Indicating the country's growing confidence in the cross-border renminbi settlement scheme."The renminbi's internationalization is happening much faster than expected," said Neil Daswani, regional head for North Asia transaction banking at Standard Chartered. "Offshore demand for renminbi is increasing, and more Chinese imports are likely to be redenominated to renminbi rather than being settled in other currencies."Based on data provided by Standard Chartered and the People's Bank of China, an estimated 200 billion yuan in Chinese imports will be settled in yuan renminbi in 2011, increasing to 2.8 trillion yuan by 2015.Hong Kong Monetary Authority Chief Executive Norman Chan said the expansion has brought the development of offshore renminbi business in Hong Kong to a new level."I look forward to an increase in cross-border trade transactions that are settled through Hong Kong's renminbi platform. It is also hoped that banks in Hong Kong can seize the opportunities to provide more and better renminbi financial services in support of real economic activities, thereby contributing to the development of the country."The cross-border renminbi trade-settlement scheme's coverage was expanded in June, from trade transactions between five Mainland cities and the ASEAN economies to all trade transactions of 20 provinces and cities on the Mainland with the rest of the world.The renminbi will be a major reserve currency within 10 years, predicts Tan Kah Chye, global head of corporate cash and trade, transaction banking at Standard Chartered.
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