Renminbi role 'changing in global trade'

The renminbi's function in international trade is moving from a settlement currency to an investment currency, according to a senior manager of the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications.

A report from the society last week indicates that the renminbi is in eighth place as a global transaction currency, one place higher than on a list from the Bank for International Settlements in early September.

The renminbi's rising status is on a par with its presence in international payment and financing, said Patrick de Courcy, the society's head of markets, Asia Pacific. The currency is being used more widely in trade settlement and is particularly active in offshore markets, he added.

The currency's rising profile in transactions and falling status in payments indicate it is transforming from a settlement currency into an investment currency, de Courcy said.

The market share of the renminbi in transactions was 1.49 percent in August, up from 0.92 percent in January 2012, according to the society's report.

Its market share in payments dropped from 0.87 percent in July to 0.84 percent in August.