The China Securities Regulatory Commission granted Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (‘QFII’) status to Bank of Nova Scotia, enabling the bank to trade renminbi-denominated A shares, and treasury, corporate and commercial bonds listed on domestic exchanges.

In addition to obtaining QFII status, BNS recently received approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission to conduct derivatives activities in China. This will enable the bank to offer interest rate, currency, commodity and other derivative products to both foreign and local Chinese companies and financial institutions.

“We are very pleased to be the first Canadian bank to have been granted QFII status in China,” said Rob Pitfield, executive vice president, international banking, BNS. “We have been working to expand the services available to our clients in this country, and the addition of the QFII and the ability to offer derivative products mark further important milestones in this progress.”

China announced in 2002 that foreign investors who qualify as QFII could participate in the domestic securities market, identifying four types of institutions that could qualify as QFII, subject to stringent requirements on track record and capital. These types of institutions include fund management companies, insurance companies, securities brokerage firms and commercial banks.

BNS has been operating in China for over 20 years since opening the Beijing representative office in 1982. It subsequently opened branches in Guangzhou, serving the southern region, and Chongqing, serving the northern and western regions. Earlier this year, BNS announced that it had received approval to convert its representative office in Shanghai to full branch status, covering the eastern region and, when opened, will be the only Canadian bank in this important city. With this addition, BNS is the only Canadian bank in China with broad coverage from offices in all key regions.