THE People's Bank of China named the nation's biggest lender, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the clearing bank for offshore yuan business in Singapore, the central bank said today.
Based on an arrangement between the PBOC and the Monetary Authority of Singapore to strengthen cooperation in financial services, the Chinese central bank decided to authorize ICBC's Singapore branch as the clearing bank for yuan business in Singapore, according to a statement on PBOC's website.
"This may pave the way for the start of an offshore deliverable market in Singapore similar to the ones in Hong Kong and Taiwan," Dariusz Kowalczyk, senior economist at Credit Agricole in Hong Kong, said in an emailed note today. "It seems that the PBOC was waiting for the Singapore set-up until after it allows the yuan market in Taiwan to start."
Local banks in Taiwan launched yuan business on Wednesday. Yuan deposits reached 1.3 billion yuan (US$206 million) on that day. Standard Chartered Bank and DBS Bank predicted earlier this week that yuan deposits in Taiwan will top 140 billion yuan by the end of 2013.
Based on an arrangement between the PBOC and the Monetary Authority of Singapore to strengthen cooperation in financial services, the Chinese central bank decided to authorize ICBC's Singapore branch as the clearing bank for yuan business in Singapore, according to a statement on PBOC's website.
"This may pave the way for the start of an offshore deliverable market in Singapore similar to the ones in Hong Kong and Taiwan," Dariusz Kowalczyk, senior economist at Credit Agricole in Hong Kong, said in an emailed note today. "It seems that the PBOC was waiting for the Singapore set-up until after it allows the yuan market in Taiwan to start."
Local banks in Taiwan launched yuan business on Wednesday. Yuan deposits reached 1.3 billion yuan (US$206 million) on that day. Standard Chartered Bank and DBS Bank predicted earlier this week that yuan deposits in Taiwan will top 140 billion yuan by the end of 2013.
