China approves two foreign institutions to invest

SHANGHAI, June 18 (Reuters) China's foreign exchange regulator has given permission to two foreign institutions to invest a total of up to 0 million in the Chinese securities markets.

Canada's Bank of Nova Scotia received an investment quota of 0 million and KBC Financial Products UK Ltd., part of Belgian banking group KBC , a quota of 0 million, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said on its Web site.

The approvals mean 40 foreign institutions now have permission to invest a total of up to .145 billion in China's securities markets under its Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor scheme, the official Xinhua news agency said on Sunday.

REUTERS CS BST1515