Cross-border yuan deals surge for BOC

BOC's branch in Hong Kong, which is home to the biggest offshore yuan market, recorded 36 percent growth in its cross-border yuan settlements in the first three quarters to 2.6 trillion yuan.

Daily transactions involving offshore yuan settlements in the foreign exchange market stand at the equivalent of $10 billion, said Yang Ruhai, head of yuan transactions at the Hong Kong office of BOC.

"We have recently visited many countries and regions to promote cross-border and offshore yuan settlement. We were pleased that the scale of yuan settlements overseas has been increasing as Chinese companies make more investments abroad," said Yang. "Apart from the Asia-Pacific, clients in Europe, the United States and the Middle East are showing more interest in doing business using the yuan."

Cross-border yuan settlement by BOC's London branch stood at 60 billion yuan in the first nine months, up 50 percent.

"China agreed to grant 80 billion yuan in [renminbi qualified foreign institutional investor quotas] to the UK during the visit to China by Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne last month," said Fang Wenjian, manager of BOC's branch in London.

"We believe that cooperation like this will facilitate the environment for offshore renminbi settlements in London."

During the Renminbi World Conference held this week in Beijing by the publishing firm Asian Banker, Wei Jianguo, ex-minister of commerce of China, offered several suggestions for speeding up the yuan's internationalization.

"We should elevate the yuan's profile in the international market in a multifaceted manner," said Wei, "including yuan settlement in China's foreign aid to other countries, in fairs and bazaars at border regions with neighboring countries, and by setting up eight to 10 yuan offshore centers similar to Hong Kong."