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The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) welcomes the announcement by the Central Government today (June 30) of a series of measures that support the development of offshore Renminbi business in Hong Kong.
The Central Government's measures supporting the development of offshore Renminbi business in Hong Kong include: further issuing Renminbi sovereign bonds in Hong Kong; arranging Mainland banks and enterprises to issue further Renminbi bonds in Hong Kong; further expanding the use of Renminbi outside Mainland; supporting the use of the Hong Kong platform by parties from other places to settle trade and investment transactions in Renminbi, developing the offshore Renminbi lending market and further enriching the variety of offshore Renminbi products in Hong Kong; further increasing the investment quotas, enlarging the range of participating entities, enriching the product variety and relaxing the investment restrictions in relation to the Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors scheme. Moreover, the Central Government also supports the Guangdong Province in actively exploring pilot schemes for the further expansion of cross-border Renminbi businesses and the development of new Renminbi business activities among Guangdong Province, Hong Kong and Macau.
In the past few years, with the tremendous support from the Central Government and relevant Mainland authorities, Hong Kong has developed rapidly as the offshore Renminbi business centre and is providing a comprehensive, one-stop Renminbi financial platform for corporates and financial institutions around the world to conduct Renminbi business. The latest measures announced by the Central Government underscore once again the important role played by Hong Kong in promoting the cross-border use of Renminbi and help consolidate Hong Kong's status as a global centre for offshore Renminbi trade settlement, financing and asset management.
Ends/Saturday, June 30, 2012
Issued at HKT 19:44
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