Offshore RMB market strengthens HK's status: report

The offshore RMB market will strengthen the competitiveness and status of Hong Kong as an international financial center, according to  the Economic Review.

During the first four months of this year, 16 % of Hong Kong's RMB deposits came from overseas enterprises.

In the first quarter of this year, some 86 % of RMB trade settlement between the Chinese Mainland and overseas trading partners was conducted through Hong Kong, amongst which 19.3 % was handled between receiving banks and corporations residing outside Hong Kong.

In the year 2010, the issuance of RMB bonds, certificate of deposit and equity linked notes combined reached the equivalent of 30 % of the newly issued Hong Kong dollar debt securities except for the government bonds and Exchange Fund Bills and Notes.

Further, the report said that as the RMB's internationalization marches on, it will help attract foreign banks and financial institutions who are conducting offshore RMB business to converge into Hong Kong, resulting in the offshore RMB center with the largest offshore RMB business volume and the most comprehensive product spectrum.

The full story is available at xinhua.