China's foreign exchange regulators have approved $500 million in additional quotas under the qualified foreign institutional investor (QFII) scheme, which allows foreign access to the country's equity and debt markets.

GE Asset Management Inc and UBS Global Asset Management (Singapore) were each granted a quota of $200 million. The State Administration of Foreign Exchange also awarded Fortis Bank an additional $100 million quota to its already approved $400 million.

The new approvals brought the total to $9.454 billion, near the $10 billion ceiling the government has set.

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