Amid all the talk of renminbi internationalisation, one question has long bugged offshore investors: what to do with the Chinese currency?

China’s strict controls on its capital account have largely prevented overseas holders of renminbi from investing the currency. While there have been some avenues – such as the dim sum bond market in Hong Kong – the inability to put cash back to work on the Chinese mainland itself has stymied international use of the renminbi.

However, the window for international investment has now been cracked open, under new rules announced early this month by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) regarding its renminbi qualified foreign institutional investor (RQFII) quota scheme, through which international investors use their Chinese currency holdings to buy onshore assets.