BEIJING: China has raised the limit on purchases of local shares by foreign investors by 25 percent to $1 billion, the government said.

The quota for share purchases by so-called qualified foreign institutional investors used to be $800 million, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said in a statement over the weekend.

China's two main stock markets in Shanghai and Shenzhen restrict foreign participation.

Overseas companies are barred from listing on them, and foreign investors can only buy limited quantities of yuan-denominated "A shares" through designated "qualified foreign institutional investors."

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange, which oversees foreign exchange policies and dealings, also said that by the end of August, it had approved 76 qualified foreign institutional investors with investment quotas totaling $15.3 billion.