Banking

Chinese bank's cross-border yuan settlement tops 150b

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-03-01 17:34

BEIJING - The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has handled more than 150 billion yuan ($22.83 billion) of cross-border trade settled in its own currency by the end of January, according to a statement released Tuesday on its website.

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The ICBC has opened more than 200 yuan-denominated accounts for overseas institutions by the end of January, said the statement.

At present, its yuan settlement network covers 49 countries or regions, the most among China's commercial banks.

The statement said the bank will further improve its network of overseas yuan settlement, and enhance its capability to provide quality services to overseas clients.

The ICBC started the business in July 2009 after the government launched a pilot program for cross-border trade settlement in yuan.