BOC working to boost global power of renminbi

According to the latest semi-annual report released by Bank of China on Friday, the group achieved an operating income of 329.4 billion yuan ($46.2 billion), representing a year-on-year increase of 3.61 percent. Net fee income grew by 9.17 percent year-on-year, while after-tax profit reached 126.1 billion yuan. After-tax profit attributable to the bank's shareholders amounted to 117.6 billion yuan.

The bank's assets and liabilities showed steady growth. Total assets reached 36.79 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.93 percent compared to the end of the previous year. The proportion of high-yield assets, such as loans and bond investments, increased by 2.32 percentage points. Total liabilities amounted to 33.66 trillion yuan, up 4.85 percent from the end of the previous year. The data released also indicate an improvement in the competitiveness of average daily renminbi deposits in the domestic market.

The internationalization of the RMB, as a key part of the opening-up of China's financial industry, can also benefit the nation's dual-cycle development pattern, which takes the domestic market as the mainstay while allowing domestic and international markets to reinforce each other. As a Chinese commercial bank with a high degree of globalization, BOC, leveraging its century of cross-border financial experience and comprehensive cross-border RMB clearing network, said it will continue to contribute to RMB internationalization and serve China's diplomacy, economy and trade.

Cross-border network

Since establishing its first overseas institution, the London Office, in 1929, BOC has been developing globally. Currently, the bank's overseas institutions cover 64 countries and regions across six continents, including 45 countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative. Leveraging its service outlets in key global regions, BOC bridges cross-border exchanges and economic cooperation.

RMB clearing banks are a significant institutional arrangement to assist the international use of the RMB. Since being appointed as the world's first RMB clearing bank in 2003, BOC has been developing cross-border RMB clearing channels to expand use of the RMB in foreign trade and investment. Currently, the People's Bank of China — the nation's central bank — has authorized 34 RMB clearing banks in 32 countries and regions. BOC operates 16 of these, including all three clearing banks in Africa.

As the internationalization of the RMB accelerates, the demand for its cross-border payment and settlement continues to grow. The Cross-Border Interbank Payment System, as a critical financial infrastructure, is gradually becoming the main channel.

BOC is involved in the construction of the CIPS system. As of 2024, 44 BOC institutions have joined the CIPS as direct participants, while also acting as agents for nearly 700 banking financial institutions worldwide.

Currently, more than 70 percent of global offshore RMB payments are settled in Hong Kong, with the majority processed through the Real Time Gross Settlement in Hong Kong. As Hong Kong's sole RMB business clearing bank and the settlement institution for this system, BOC keeps on promoting such advantages in RMB settlement and clearing. In 2024, BOC's RMB settlement volume in Hong Kong increased by 5.3 times year-on-year.

By strengthening the regional headquarters functions of BOC (Hong Kong), BOC has enhanced its operations in Southeast Asian countries. To date, BOC serves as the RMB clearing bank for Malaysia, the Philippines and Cambodia, while its Vientiane branch has been approved by the Lao central bank to become the first digital RMB clearing bank. Additionally, as a key partner of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, BOC is a major force in promoting the development of Hong Kong's real economy.

Data show that in 2024, BOC handled a total of 1,313.83 trillion yuan in cross-border RMB clearing business, a year-on-year increase of 40 percent. BOC has been repeatedly awarded the "Best RMB Clearing Bank in the Asia-Pacific Region" by The Asian Banker magazine.