Deals Between Malaysia, China Using Renminbi To Rise Significantly - HSBC Study

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 4 (Bernama) -- Business and trade transactions conducted in China's renminbi between Malaysia and China will significantly increase in the coming years, following the higher usage of the currency last year coupled with the rising positive factors that helped drive demand for the currency. HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd Managing Director, Alvin Kong, said the transactions in renminbi last year between the two countries using the standard format for Business Identifier Codes, also known as SWIFT CODE, showed a substantial growth of over 50 per cent year-on-year (yoy). "We expect the trend to increase and the 50 per cent growth yoy can continue," he said at a press confrence after unveiling the findings of the bank's Renminbi Internalisation Study 2016 here Friday. The study, which involved 1,600 decision-makers in 14 countries, showed that 24 per cent of the respondents said their firms were using renminbi for cross-border businesses globally. In Malaysia, the usage of renminbi for business settlement has risen by six per cent to 20 per cent versus 14 per cent last year. The study also revealed that 36 per cent of the respondents foresaw that renminbi will rise as international trading currency in the next five years. Kong said the recognition of renminbi as the fifth global reserve currency by the International Monetary Fund also marked a new level of acceptance of it on the world stage. He said the opening up of China's interbank bond market to foreign investors recently, as well as, projects undertaken via the Belt and Road Initiative that encouraged the use of renminbi had also spurred its demand. --BERNAMA