China will press ahead with internationalisation of yuan and markets: Sibos panellists
‘China’s financial sector has and will continue to embrace opening up and cooperation,’ said Lu Lei, deputy governor of the PBOC
The internationalisation of China’s financial markets and currency will continue, fuelled by rising interest from global investors, with Hong Kong positioned as a critical “superconnector” and hub for technological development, panellists said at the Sibos conference in Beijing.
“As experience has shown, opening up is an important driving force for ‘high quality’ development of the financial sector”, and the PBOC will advance this mission by “providing an enabling environment for foreign financial investors to operate in China, improve operation in line with international best practices, and expand the interconnectivity between domestic and overseas financial markets”.
The four-day event, organised by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift), has drawn more than 10,000 financial professionals from around the world and over 125 exhibitors.
At a separate panel discussion, David Liao, HSBC’s Asia-Pacific co-CEO, said global usage of the yuan “is not remotely proportionate to China’s economic heft”.
“Over the years, the range of initiatives to accelerate the pace of renminbi internationalisation has grown in line with economic necessity,” Liao said. “For example, renminbi payments and trade finance are increasing, the eCNY is under trial, and the connect schemes between Hong Kong and the mainland have been expanding. Indeed, there is still more room to grow renminbi usage in overseas markets and Hong Kong in particular.”
