- QFLP turns offshore capital into onshore RMB fund and equity investment, via a qualification approval and an FX supervision procedure.
QFLP经资格审批与外汇资金监管程序，将境外资本兑换为人民币，投资境内基金与股权。- Two tiers: a pilot fund management enterprise plus the pilot fund; both may be wholly foreign-owned.
两层结构：试点基金管理企业与试点基金，均可外商独资设立。- No national measure exists; thresholds and quotas are local, and 2026 brought new rules in Shaanxi, Liuzhou, Wenzhou and Shanghai.
无统一全国办法，门槛与额度由地方设定；2026年陕西、柳州、温州、上海密集出台新规。- Shaanxi’s bar: RMB 100m filed fund scale, five years’ record for new managers, USD 5m net assets and a USD 1m ticket for offshore LPs.
陕西门槛：备案规模1亿元，新设管理人5年经历，境外LP净资产500万美元、单笔100万美元。- Deadlines: six months to register, twelve to obtain AMAC manager registration, twelve more to file a first fund.
时限：6个月完成登记，12个月取得中基协管理人登记，再12个月完成首只基金备案。- Permitted: unlisted equity, private placements, mezzanine, distressed assets. Barred: secondary-market trading, derivatives, non-self-use real estate.
可投非上市股权、定向发行、夹层与不良资产；禁止二级市场交易、衍生品与非自用不动产。
QFLP in 2026: How Foreign Capital Sets Up an Onshore RMB Private Equity Fund in China | 2026年QFLP试点全解：境外资本如何在中国设立境内人民币私募股权基金
Why QFLP Is the Practical Door for Foreign PE Capital
QFLP — Qualified Foreign Limited Partner — lets offshore individuals and institutions join a pilot fund: clear a qualification approval and an FX supervision procedure, convert offshore capital into RMB, invest onshore. It is a licence, not a portfolio channel.
The Two-Tier Structure
The pilot fund management enterprise sponsors and manages the business; the pilot fund raises money non-publicly from qualified onshore and offshore investors and invests mainly in unlisted equity. Together they are the pilot enterprises — corporate or partnership form, wholly or partly foreign-owned.
A Local Pilot, Not a National Licence: the 2026 Map
| Locality | Instrument | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Shaanxi FTZ | 7 depts, 陕金办发〔2026〕35号 | Apr 2026 |
| Shanghai | 沪府办发〔2026〕8号 | 29 May 2026 |
| Liuzhou | 6 depts, municipal measures | 30 Jun 2026 |
| Wenzhou | Municipal measures, 3-year validity | 1 Jul 2026 |
Shaanxi implements MOFCOM’s services-opening pilot plan (商资函〔2025〕84号). Wenzhou repealed its 2022 guidelines and encourages Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR institutions and individuals to set up managers there. Shanghai adds “one-window acceptance”, QFII refinement and QDLP quota recycling.
Who Qualifies: Manager Track and LP Track
Shaanxi’s FTZ measures are the model; others differ.
- AMAC-registered manager: sound governance, no judicial or regulatory penalty in three years, not on the dishonesty roster, filed fund scale ≥ RMB 100m, offshore fundraising capability.
- New manager: controlling shareholder, actual controller or executive partner with 5+ years in fund management; 2+ senior managers, one a core decision-maker, with 5+ years in equity investment.
- Offshore LP: net assets USD 5m; minimum ticket USD 1m.
- Onshore institutional LP: net assets RMB 10m; minimum RMB 1m.
- Individual LP: financial net assets RMB 3m plus financial assets RMB 5m, or three-year average income RMB 500,000; minimum RMB 1m.
The fund sits inside the FTZ; the manager faces no location restriction. A QFLP may land as a fund alone, and one raising only offshore needs no AMAC filing.
Approval Workflow, Quota Letter and Deadlines
Apply through the proposed manager or fund to the local financial administration department, which recommends to the provincial financial office; that office consults joint consultation member units, holds a joint consultation meeting and issues a written opinion specifying the pilot quota. A new entity pre-files its name, then registers with that opinion; name and scope must show “private fund” or “venture capital”. Registration must finish within six months; missing AMAC manager registration within twelve months, or a first fund filing within twelve months of that registration, revokes the qualification.
Where the Fund May and May Not Invest
| Permitted | Prohibited |
|---|---|
| Unlisted-company equity | Sectors closed to foreign investment |
| Listed shares via private placement, block trade, agreement transfer | Secondary-market shares and corporate bonds |
| Rights issues as an original shareholder | Futures and financial derivatives |
| Onshore PE and VC funds | Non-self-use real estate |
| Mezzanine, private debt, distressed assets | Loans or guarantees to non-portfolio companies |
Managers may not conduct private lending, guarantees, factoring, pawnbroking, financial leasing, online lending intermediation, crowdfunding or off-exchange margin financing. Investment must follow the dynamically adjusted *Foreign Investment Access Negative List* and its FTZ edition; outside it, domestic and foreign capital are treated alike. No offshore investment without approval.
Custody, Quarterly Reporting and Supervision
A commercial bank with fund-custody qualifications must be appointed; it checks the authenticity and compliance of fund use, monitors in real time and runs anti-fraud and anti-money-laundering checks at liquidation. The manager reports quarterly to the provincial financial office, the local regulator, the PBOC branch and the SAFE branch on operations, equity changes, document amendments and management changes.
Exit, Repatriation and Quota Flexibility
Exits: transfer to another investor; buy-back by the portfolio company or its shareholders; public listing onshore or offshore; other lawful methods. Distribution and liquidation follow the fund contract, articles or partnership agreement; repatriation must comply with FX rules. Salary and other lawful income of foreign employees and of employees from the Hong Kong SAR, the Macao SAR and the Taiwan region may be freely remitted. Offshore principal across funds may not exceed the approved total, but a sponsor with several funds may reallocate that scale at will.
The 2026 Policy Tailwind
The *Action Plan for Stabilizing and Optimizing Foreign Investment* (商资发〔2026〕97号, 16 June 2026) supports treasury bond futures and other risk tools for foreign institutions, fund investment advisory business, cross-border financing facilitation quotas for key foreign-invested enterprises, “document preparation on behalf of clients” settlement services, better pre-filing communication for exchange listings, and — item (4) — foreign equity-investment institutions acting as strategic investors in securities offerings by listed companies in unrelated industries. Shanghai’s 23 July 2026 technology-finance measures deepen the QFLP pilot, promote “foreign investment under domestic management” and explore offshore RMB for onshore innovation; Shanghai has drawn 108 institutions and about RMB 56 billion onshore.
Related Reading
See also our fintech and financial-licence overview (No. 44) and financial-sector opening measures (No. 55).
2026年QFLP试点全解：境外资本如何在中国设立境内人民币私募股权基金
为何QFLP是外资私募股权资本的现实通道
QFLP——合格境外有限合伙人——允许境外自然人与境外机构投资者参与投资试点基金：通过资格审批和外汇资金监管程序，将境外资本兑换为人民币资金投向境内，属牌照化路径而非组合投资渠道。
两层结构
试点基金管理企业发起并受托管理股权投资业务；试点基金以非公开方式向境内外合格投资者募集，主要投资于非公开交易企业股权。二者合称试点企业，可采用公司制、合伙制，可外商独资或非独资发起。
地方试点而非全国牌照：2026年版图
| 地区 | 文件 | 时间 |
|---|---|---|
| 陕西自贸试验区 | 七部门，陕金办发〔2026〕35号 | 2026年4月 |
| 上海 | 沪府办发〔2026〕8号 | 2026年5月29日 |
| 广西柳州 | 6部门，市级试点办法 | 2026年6月30日 |
| 浙江温州 | 市级试点办法，有效期三年 | 2026年7月1日施行 |
陕西办法落实商务部《关于加快推进服务业扩大开放综合试点工作方案》（商资函〔2025〕84号）。温州废止2022年旧指引，鼓励中国香港、中国澳门地区的机构和自然人在当地设立基金管理企业。上海完善主体设立”一口受理”、优化QFII、提高QDLP额度使用效率。
谁有资格：管理人路径与LP路径
以陕西自贸试验区办法为范本，各地不一。
- 已登记管理人： 治理结构健全、近三年未受司法机关和监管机构处罚、未列入严重违法失信名单，备案基金规模不低于1亿元人民币，具备境外募资能力。
- 新设管理人： 控股股东、实际控制人或执行事务合伙人具5年以上基金管理经历；至少两名高管（含核心投资决策人员）具5年以上股权投资经历。
- 境外机构投资者： 净资产不低于500万美元，单笔不低于100万美元。
- 境内机构投资者： 净资产不低于1000万元，单笔不低于100万元人民币。
- 个人投资者： 金融净资产不低于300万元且金融资产不低于500万元，或近三年年均收入不低于50万元；单笔不低于100万元人民币。
试点基金注册地须在自贸试验区内，管理企业不作注册地限制；可以试点基金形式独立落地；仅在境外募集资金的，中基协备案暂不做强制性要求。
审批流程、额度意见书与时限
通过拟设立的试点基金管理企业或试点基金，向所在地地方金融管理部门申请，由其形成推荐意见报省级金融办；省级金融办征求联合会商成员单位意见、召开联合会商会议，出具书面意见并明确试点额度。新设企业须先办理企业名称预先申报，再持会商意见书办理营业执照登记，名称和经营范围应标明”私募基金””创业投资”等字样。企业登记须在6个月内办结，过期须重新申请；登记注册起12个月内未取得中基协管理人登记，或登记为管理人起12个月内未完成首次募集备案的，取消试点资格。
投资范围与禁区
| 可以投 | 不得投／不得做 |
|---|---|
| 非上市公司股权 | 国家禁止外商投资领域 |
| 上市公司定向发行、大宗交易、协议转让的普通股 | 二级市场股票和企业债券交易 |
| 作为原始股东参与配股 | 期货等金融衍生品交易 |
| 境内私募股权／创业投资基金 | 非自用不动产 |
| 夹层投资、私募债、不良资产 | 向非被投企业提供贷款或担保 |
管理企业不得从事民间借贷、担保、保理、典当、融资租赁、网络借贷信息中介、众筹、场外配资等业务。投资须遵守动态调整的《外商投资准入特别管理措施（负面清单）》及自贸试验区版清单；清单以外按内外资一致原则管理。未经批准不得在境外投资。
托管、季度报告与穿透式监管
须委托具备资金托管资质的商业银行作为托管银行，审查资金使用真实性合规性、实时监控，并在项目清算时开展反欺诈反洗钱核查。试点基金管理企业须按季度向省级金融办、地方金融监管部门、人民银行分行、外汇局分局报告投资运作、股权结构变更、重要法律文件修改、董监高变动等事项。
退出、汇出与额度调剂
退出方式：股权转让给其他投资者；由所投企业或其股东按股权回购协议回购；所投企业在境内外证券市场公开上市；法律法规允许的其他方式。利润分配或清算按基金合同、公司章程或合伙协议约定，收益汇出境外须符合国家外汇管理规定。外籍员工及中国香港、中国澳门、中国台湾地区员工的工资收入和其他合法收入可依法自由汇出。各基金境外汇入本金之和不得超过核准总规模，但发起多只试点基金的可自主在各基金之间灵活调剂募资规模。
2026年的政策顺风
《利用外资固稳促优行动方案》（商资发〔2026〕97号，2026年6月16日印发）提出：支持外资机构利用包括国债期货在内的风险管理工具、依法开展基金投资顾问业务；为重点外资企业提供跨境融资便利化额度；引导境内银行推出”代客制单“国际结算单证服务；优化交易所上市申报前预沟通。第（四）条还允许符合条件的外资股权投资机构以战略投资者身份参与非相关行业上市公司证券发行。上海2026年7月23日科技金融措施进一步深化QFLP试点，推广”外资内管“模式，探索引入境外离岸人民币支持境内科技创新；上海已累计吸引108家机构参与，境内投资约560亿元人民币。
相关阅读
可参阅本站金融科技与金融牌照总览（编号44）及金融业开放措施一文（编号55）。
Sources