Global financial service giant Citigroup has received a quota to invest US$500 million abroad on behalf of domestic clients, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said on its Web site on Monday.

In a separate announcement, the foreign exchange regulator said it had given approval to Hong Kong-based Hang Seng Bank to invest US$300 million overseas as part of China's qualified domestic institutional investor (QDII) programme.

Under the QDII scheme launched earlier this year, banks, insurance firms and fund managers are allowed to invest clients' assets overseas, a step designed to help spur capital inflows and relieve upward pressure on the yuan.

But the government has stipulated that funds managed under the QDII scheme should be invested in fixed-income assets and money-market instruments to rein in investment risk.