BEIJING, Nov. 3 (Xinhuanet) -- China's securities regulator has approved an application from Hong Kong's monetary authority to invest in the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission made the announcement in a statement on its website, but it gives no further details. The approval makes the Hong Kong Monetary Authority the third central bank to receive a Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors license, also known as a QFII. The next step for the authority is to apply for an investment quota, from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

Overseas investors with QFII licenses have pumped about 17.7 billion US dollars into Chinese stock market, under the eight-year-old scheme.