BEIJING - China's forex regulator said Monday that a total of $4.2 billion of quotas were approved for nine Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFII) in April.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) also approved 9.7 billion yuan ($1.43 billion) of quotas for five Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (RQFII) last month.

Up till now, the country has approved $4.74 billion of quotas for 13 QFII investors this year, exceeding the total quota in 2018.

China approved $24 billion of quotas for 12 RQFII investors during the first four months, more than half of the total quota in 2018.

China's currency, the yuan, is convertible for trade purposes under the current account, while the capital account, which covers portfolio investment and borrowing, is largely run by the state in an effort to manage capital flows in and out of the country.

The QFII and RQFII programs, introduced in 2003 and 2011 respectively, allow overseas institutional investors to move money into China's capital account for investment.

"China's determination of expanding opening-up and the ongoing reform measures have made China's financial market increasingly appealing to overseas investors," according to a statement on the SAFE's website.

Data showed that overseas institutional investors bought a net $19.4 billion of Chinese stocks and $9.5 billion of Chinese bonds in the first quarter.

"The SAFE will continue to support the opening-up of financial markets, meet demand from overseas investors to expand investment in the markets and attract global long-term capital to enter the country's financial markets," said the statement.