China has made it easier for investment overseas, but the $4 trillion in savings may not stray far from home yet. The Wall Street Journal reports that since April, when the Mainland approved the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investment system, there has been hardly the anticipated flood of cash from individuals and companies to those shores. While it may eventually take off, for now, Chinese investors will have to settle for a heavily regulated system that allows individuals to put their money only in safe instruments, such as fixed-interest bonds, while asset management companies are permitted to offer their better-returning but riskier products only to selected clients. As a result, China’s attempt to open the world of investment to its locals has failed to capture their imagination or their money.
