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The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
Hong Kong and Australia held their third Renminbi (RMB) Trade and Investment Dialogue in Sydney, Australia today (July 9). The Dialogue, facilitated by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), Australian Treasury and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), was attended more than 160 representatives from financial institutions, corporates and funds managers.
This year's Dialogue focused on the investment and funding opportunities associated with the internationalisation of the RMB. The Dialogue was opened by the Secretary to the Australian Treasury, Mr John Fraser, followed by two panel sessions comprising experts from the Hong Kong and Australian financial communities. The first panel, moderated by the Deputy Chief Executive of the HKMA, Mr Eddie Yue, discussed RMB financing in the offshore market and the opportunities for corporates and financial institutions arising from the latest RMB internationalisation measures. The second panel, moderated by the Deputy Governor of the RBA, Dr Philip Lowe, discussed the investment opportunities associated with RMB internationalisation, including the expanding RMB Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (RQFII) scheme and the RMB50 billion RQFII quota for Australia.
The Hong Kong-Australia RMB Working Group also met this afternoon to discuss how to make good use of the recent developments regarding RMB funding, investment and trade settlement.
Mainland China has continued to liberalise its capital account in the past year, creating more opportunities for RMB investment including the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect and the Mutual Recognition of Funds between Mainland and Hong Kong. According to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), RMB now ranks first in Asia-Pacific for payments with mainland China and Hong Kong. Around 15 per cent of SWIFT payments between Australia and mainland China and Hong Kong are currently denominated in RMB, up from 3 per cent in 2012.
Ends/Thursday, July 9, 2015
Issued at HKT 16:22
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