Standard Chartered Bank has announced that it will start offering Renminbi payments, clearing, FX, trade services Renminbi clearing and settlement services to corporate and institutional clients in ASEAN markets including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.
There has been a flurry of activity regarding the move towards full convertibility for the Renminbi. HSBC Bank, the Bank of East Asia, and Standard Chartered Bank have all recently announced that they have gained cross-border trade Renminbi settlement qualification. According to Chinese state media, Standard Chartered plans to issue USD512 million in Renminbi-denominated bonds, making it the first foreign bank to issue local currency bonds in mainland China.
In July, Standard Chartered Bank announced that it was the first international bank in Hong Kong to settle two-way Renminbi trade settlement with China, the first international bank offer RMB Nostro services to ASEAN banks and the first international bank in China to lend Renminbi overseas, under this scheme.
Jiten Arora, Regional head of Transaction Banking (Southern Asia) at Standard Chartered said: There is a lot of potential for the Renminbi to gain momentum as a trade settlement currency in the region, given the importance of China as a trading partner to the ASEAN block. By working with Standard Chartered, corporates and financial institutions in ASEAN countries can now leverage the opportunities that are emerging as this scheme unfolds. We are now offering Renminbi services for settlement with mainland China companies from Hong Kong, Macau and across the ASEAN countries.
The Bank will further expand its offering in ASEAN to offer additional services such as Renminbi denominated deposits and current accounts from October 2009 onwards.
Arora continued: As a designated Agent & Settlement bank for Renminbi, we also look forward to working closely with our clients to leverage these opportunities as well as help them get their counterparties onto the approved Mainland Designated Entity (MDE) list in China.