Hong Kong vies to become the offshore renminbi centre for global businesses

The government presented in London to attract European firms to use Hong Kong’s renminbi financial platform.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, together with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, organised a seminar on “Hong Kong: Offshore Renminbi Centre for Global Businesses” on 14 September 2011 in London.

HKMA said this was also a joint effort with financial industry representatives to promote the use of Hong Kong’s renminbi financial platform by UK and European corporates and financial institutions in conducting their offshore RMB businesses.

Mr Norman Chan, Chief Executive of the HKMA, said in his keynote presentation, “As the internationalisation of RMB progresses, offshore RMB businesses will be developed in different parts of the world. For London as Europe’s business and financial centre, the demand for offshore RMB financial services and products by customers will increase rapidly. In this regard, the Hong Kong RMB platform can support the development of various kinds of offshore RMB businesses in London, and this will be mutually beneficial for both places.”

An HKMA press statement said, "At the panel discussion, senior representatives from the Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited and the Hong Kong Exchange showcased the comprehensive one-stop RMB services that Hong Kong as the offshore RMB business centre can offer, from RMB clearing and correspondent banking services for banks and financial institutions from all around the world at the wholesale level, to banking and capital market financing and wealth management services for corporates at the customer level."

The seminar was attended by over 200 representatives of financial institutions and corporates from UK and the Europe, according to HKMA. It was part of the “Think Asia, Think Hong Kong” promotion programme organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.