Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) -- China will expand yuan cross-border settlement to the entire nation, according to a statement on the central bank’s Web site, jointly issued with the nation’s banking, insurance and securities regulators.
The mainland this year allowed 365 companies in Shanghai and the southern province of Guangdong to use yuan in cross- border trade with Hong Kong and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations from July 2. The central bank said on Nov. 11 that the transactions using the currency exceeded 100 million yuan ($14.6 million) as of the end of September.
“China will conduct the yuan’s cross-border settlement program nationwide,” the statement said. The regulators also pledged to “further expand the areas where the settlement program is conducted and increase the number of companies permitted to settle international trade in yuan.”
Hong Kong’s former central bank chief Joseph Yam said on Dec. 18 that the yuan can become the “third pillar” of the global monetary system as deteriorating public finances erode confidence in the dollar and the euro.
China’s central bank statement didn’t say when the transactions will be expanded.
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