China will continue to expand the cross-border use of the yuan this year, the central bank said on Wednesday. Â
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People's Bank of China (PBOC) will gradually upgrade the yuan formation mechanism and expand the exchange rate's floating range in an orderly way, according to the PBOC. Â
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The statement came after Shanghai free trade zone (FTZ) announced on Tuesday that five third-party payment firms have been approved to handle yuan-denominated cross-border payments in the zone. Â
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The Shanghai office of the PBOC said that Allinpay, 99Bill, ChinaPay, Dongfang Electronics and Shengpay are now allowed to process cross-border payment in the Renminbi in the FTZ. Â
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The Bank of China cross-border renminbi index hit a record high of 228 in the fourth quarter of 2013, the bank said on Tuesday. Â
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The yuan's cross-border settlement was 3.64 trillion CNY (597 billion USD) in the first eleven months of 2013, 350 times that in 2009, the PBOC said at a work-planning meeting in January.