Trading wiTh China: The rise of offshore renminbi business
The Asia Society with the support of ANZ are delighted to launch this publication focusing on the evolution of offshore RMB trade.
The Asia Society with the support of ANZ are delighted to launch this publication focusing on the evolution of offshore RMB trade. The aim is to provide support for dialogue among top business leaders and policymakers on the wider use of RMB, in the context of Sino-Australasian commerce and trade. Our hope is that this report will help increase awareness of the business opportunities and wide range of products and services in this new market, and promote the significance of such a market in the currency and risk management of companies engaged in trade with China.
Hong Kong has been established as the “offshore RMB” market. Since early 2010, the offshore RMB FX market in Hong Kong has grown significantly, with RMB-denominated deposits reaching RMB310bn (or US$48bn) by the end of 2010, up from RMB62bn (US$9bn) a year earlier. Crossborder trade settlement reached RMB101bn (US$15bn) per month as at December 2010, compared with just RMB10bn (US$1.5bn) in June 2010, the first month the trade settlement scheme was expanded to cover 20 Chinese provinces and cities.
We have seen the first Australian and New Zealand companies dipping their toes into this market late in 2010, and believe there will be rapid take-up and expansion in 2011 as the benefits of RMB-based transactions become clear.
ANZ’s support for this initiative falls within a broad program of corporate responsibility that expresses our deep commitment to the Asia Pacific region. ANZ has had a presence in China for more than 25 years, and has just completed a process of local incorporation to connect global business and our clients within and outside of Greater China. The continued economic and financial development of the region is critical to us and to our customers, and our corporate responsibility agenda reflects this.
The Asia Society AustralAsia Centre was launched in 1997 by Australian Prime Minister, The Hon. John Howard. The Centre is a nonprofit, educational organisation and aims to broaden understanding of Asian countries and cultures amongst Australian people, and to strengthen the linkages between political, business, and cultural leaders and decision makers from the Asian region with their Australian counterparts. The AustralAsia Centre does this by running an extensive public programme of business, policy, and cultural events. Past prominent speakers include Lee Kuan Yew, then Senior Minister, Republic of Singapore; H.E. Dr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of Indonesia; and The Hon. Kevin Rudd MP, then Prime Minister of Australia.