Cctv newsWith the RMB being formally included in the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) currency basket of the International Monetary Fund on October 1st this year, the RMB has become an international reserve currency and a "freely usable currency" club recognized by international authorities, and its position in the international monetary system has been rising continuously, and the internationalization of the RMB has entered the fast lane.
A few days ago, The Wall Street Journal reported that the latest September RMB tracking report released by SWIFT showed that 101 countries have used RMB as one of their trade currencies, and the number of countries that use RMB for trade continues to increase, which is undoubtedly a strong support for China’s efforts to promote RMB internationalization.
The offshore RMB market is booming, and RMB payment accounts for more than 10% of the threshold.
According to statistics, in the past two years, when making direct payments to the mainland of China and Hongkong, the number of countries with RMB accounting for more than 10% increased by 7, bringing the total number to 57. Reuters said that the 10% milestone is a threshold used by SWIFT to measure the payment and settlement in RMB for mainland China and Hongkong. Among the 101 countries that use RMB for payment, the proportion of payment is 12.9%, up nearly 2% from 11.2% in October 2014.
"As more and more countries choose to use RMB for trade, the offshore RMB market is booming." The Wall Street Journal commented.
Britain: It has become the second largest offshore RMB clearing center.
More than half of RMB payment and settlement in Europe is carried out in the UK, which has surpassed Singapore to become the second largest offshore RMB settlement center. According to the statistics of SWIFT in April this year, from March 2014 to March 2016, the amount of RMB payment in the UK increased by 21%, and 40% of all payment business between the UK and China and Hongkong was settled in RMB. Renminbi is the most widely used currency in this payment channel, far exceeding Hong Kong dollar (24%) and British pound (12%).
According to the latest data, in August this year, 67.3% of all direct RMB payments between Europe and China and Hongkong were settled in the UK.
Singapore: the country with the largest RMB deposit in Southeast Asia
Singapore’s offshore RMB market is also developing rapidly. Singapore has the largest RMB deposit in Southeast Asia.
According to the latest research report on RMB internationalization released by HSBC, the proportion of Singaporean enterprises using RMB increased from 15% in 2015 to 26% in 2016, making it the largest group using RMB outside China.
South Korea: plans to turn Seoul into an offshore RMB center.
In recent years, the Korean government has actively promoted the construction of offshore RMB center, and plans to turn Seoul into an offshore RMB center in Asia after Hong Kong, China.
According to the statistics of the Bank of Korea, in the third quarter of 2016, the amount of RMB settlement in Korean export trade reached 2.239 billion US dollars, accounting for 1.84%; The RMB settlement amount in import trade was 973 million US dollars, accounting for 0.95%.
The South Korean government indicated that it would actively encourage Korean enterprises to use RMB for settlement in their trade with China, and strive to raise the settlement ratio of RMB under South Korea-China trade to 20%.
RMB is the fifth largest currency in the world, which is of great significance to the international financial system.
According to the SWIFT report, the RMB continues to be the fifth largest currency in the world, and the proportion of payment has increased to 2.03%, which was still 1.86% in August. Compared with August, the global RMB payment in September increased by 10.02%, which was nearly 1% higher than the average growth rate of all currencies.
British official: The City of London supports Britain’s long-term development of offshore RMB market.
"The internationalization of the RMB is very important not only for China, but also for the entire international financial system." Bao Mokai, Chairman of the City of London Policy, said that due to the strong market demand for goods and services denominated in RMB, we have seen a large number of bilateral business relations flourish in the UK. The British and Chinese governments have signed a series of cooperation agreements, and the cooperation between enterprises of the two countries in technology and production capacity has been increasing, which helps to enhance the innovation and competitiveness of the two markets.
"This is also why the City of London has always supported the long-term development of the offshore RMB market in the UK, which is in the common interest of enterprises in both countries".
Singapore officials: It is timely to include RMB in Singapore’s official foreign exchange reserves.
Since June this year, monetary authority of singapore (the central bank) has included RMB financial investment in Singapore’s official foreign exchange reserves. According to its announcement, this move is a recognition of the stable development and liberalization of China’s financial market, and also reflects the increasing acceptance of RMB assets by institutional investors in their global portfolios.
Luo Huiyan, deputy director of monetary authority of singapore, said that it was a timely move to include RMB financial investment in Singapore’s official foreign exchange reserves. This shows that China’s financial reform and opening-up is advancing to a deeper level, and the RMB is increasingly recognized by the international community.
Korean scholar: RMB internationalization is conducive to reducing the risk of exchange rate fluctuations in South Korea.
Ding Youxin, a professor of management at Xijiang University in South Korea, believes that at the macro level, the internationalization of the RMB is conducive to reducing the risk of exchange rate fluctuations in South Korea. The gradual promotion of RMB internationalization will promote the currency diversification of settlement under trade and capital in South Korea, which will spread risks to a certain extent and be conducive to the stability of financial markets. At the micro level, with the official entry into force of China-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the use of RMB for trade will greatly facilitate Korean import and export enterprises to China.
"With the increasing trade volume between South Korea and China and the deepening of financial cooperation between the two countries, the development prospect of RMB internationalization in South Korea is worth looking forward to." Nan Guanghe, general manager of China Bank of Communications Seoul Branch, said. (This article source: People’s Daily, reference news)