An official release from the office of Canadian Minister of Finance Joe Oliver announced he will be the guest speaker at an Industrial and Commercial Bank of China event launching the Canadian Renminbi Clearing Centre & Trading Hub. The Minister is scheduled to speak at approximately 5:15 p.m EST this Monday, March 23, 2015.
The event will take place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Room 106, North Building, 255 Front Street West, Toronto, Ontario.
What is a renminbi trading hub?
It is a centre that is authorized by China’s central bank to complete RMB transactions, with the financial infrastructure for settlement and clearing and with sufficient liquidity to handle large transactions at a stable and predictable exchange rate. Typically, this involves setting up the necessary financial infrastructure, which includes a central bank swap line, a clearing bank, investment licences/quotas and other clearing/trading elements as well as active marketing by the private and public sectors.
In recent months, the People’s Bank of China has approved RMB-clearing banks in centres such as London, Frankfurt and Seoul and has signed agreements with Paris and Luxembourg. Also, 25 other countries have signed currency swap agreements with China so far . It is becoming a crowded field but as yet there are no countries in the Americas that boast RMB trading hubs. A quick-moving Canada is now the first, giving the country a significant competitive advantage.
The biggest advantage to using RMB is the potential for winning additional export deals due to a Chinese
buyer preferring to pay in her local currency.
Source: Canadian Chamber of Commerce