HKMA promotes offshore RMB business in Tokyo

TOKYO - The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council organized a seminar on promoting offshore renminbi (RMB) business in Tokyo on Tuesday.

Norman Chan, chief executive of the HKMA, said that the growing trade links between China and Japan presented a strong business case for the use of renminbi, or the yuan, in enhancing the efficiency of these activities.

In recent years, China is playing an increasingly important role in intra-regional trade in Asia. It is Japan's largest trading partner now. In 2011, Japan's exports to China accounted for one-fifth of Japan's total exports while over 20 percent of Japan's imports were from China, according to statistics from the HKMA.

"The internationalization of renminbi involves linking of the onshore and offshore renminbi markets through three bridges, namely trade settlement, direct investment and portfolio investment," said Chan.

Hong Kong is a comprehensive one-stop platform which can facilitate Japanese companies and banks to conduct various kinds of offshore renminbi business, according to Chan.

Currently, 13 Japanese banks are participating in Hong Kong's renminbi clearing platform and six Japanese companies have issued over 3 billion yuan ($474.65 million) of dim-sum bonds in Hong Kong.

"We are open to diversified offshore renminbi markets," Chan told Xinhua. "Hong Kong would like to build mutually beneficial relations with potential offshore markets including Tokyo."