Success of RMB internationalization reflected in payments figures
Xinhua, London :
New figures from Swift RMB tracker show that RMB payments through London have increased by 123 percent in just one year.
The latest statistics reflect the flowerings of the policy of the Chinese government, embraced by policy makers and officials in Britain, to promote the growth of RMB as an international currency.
The growth of RMB in international trade plays into the strengths of the London financial center, which is the world’s leading center for foreign exchange (forex).
In October 2013 London was granted an 80 billion RMB (about 13 billion U.S. dollars) quota under the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) program, which opened the large interbank bond market to UK investors. This made Britain the first country outside Asia to gain this status.
There had already been substantial increases in RMB transactions in London in the two years prior to 2013.
The City of London Corporation (CLC) figures released in June 2014 showed that RMB forex transactions had grown rapidly.
In the first half of 2013 figures almost doubled the amount in the whole of 2012. Over the whole year there was a 140 percent increase over 2012, with an average daily value of 18.7 billion U.S. dollars on trading in deliverable products, which overtook non-deliverable in the majority market share for the first time as result of greater RMB liquidity.
A similar development was observed in spot trading with a 123 percent year-on-year increase to a daily value of 5.6 billion dollars. As a whole, RMB forex trading in London reached 25.3 billion dollars per day, up by 50 percent on 2012.
In addition trade financing with RMB had increased threefold in the first half of 2013 compared to the whole of 2011, and the full year figures for 2013 showed a 10 percent increase on the 2012 figures, totalling nearly 43 billion RMB.
In early 2014 the BOC sold 2.5 billion RMB worth of bonds in London, the biggest issue in RMB in London, which is also the world’s major bond trading center.
In March the British central bank, the Bank of England (BOE), agreed clearing and settlement arrangements for a RMB clearing bank to be based in London.
In June it was announced by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) that the clearing bank would be China Construction Bank (CCB), the first clearing house for RMB outside Asia.
The success of the policy is not just a bilateral achievement, it is also seen in figures for other European financial hubs.
New figures from Swift RMB tracker show that RMB payments through London have increased by 123 percent in just one year.
The latest statistics reflect the flowerings of the policy of the Chinese government, embraced by policy makers and officials in Britain, to promote the growth of RMB as an international currency.
The growth of RMB in international trade plays into the strengths of the London financial center, which is the world’s leading center for foreign exchange (forex).
In October 2013 London was granted an 80 billion RMB (about 13 billion U.S. dollars) quota under the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) program, which opened the large interbank bond market to UK investors. This made Britain the first country outside Asia to gain this status.
There had already been substantial increases in RMB transactions in London in the two years prior to 2013.
The City of London Corporation (CLC) figures released in June 2014 showed that RMB forex transactions had grown rapidly.
In the first half of 2013 figures almost doubled the amount in the whole of 2012. Over the whole year there was a 140 percent increase over 2012, with an average daily value of 18.7 billion U.S. dollars on trading in deliverable products, which overtook non-deliverable in the majority market share for the first time as result of greater RMB liquidity.
A similar development was observed in spot trading with a 123 percent year-on-year increase to a daily value of 5.6 billion dollars. As a whole, RMB forex trading in London reached 25.3 billion dollars per day, up by 50 percent on 2012.
In addition trade financing with RMB had increased threefold in the first half of 2013 compared to the whole of 2011, and the full year figures for 2013 showed a 10 percent increase on the 2012 figures, totalling nearly 43 billion RMB.
In early 2014 the BOC sold 2.5 billion RMB worth of bonds in London, the biggest issue in RMB in London, which is also the world’s major bond trading center.
In March the British central bank, the Bank of England (BOE), agreed clearing and settlement arrangements for a RMB clearing bank to be based in London.
In June it was announced by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) that the clearing bank would be China Construction Bank (CCB), the first clearing house for RMB outside Asia.
The success of the policy is not just a bilateral achievement, it is also seen in figures for other European financial hubs.