Yuan gains acceptance as global currency

THE internationalization of yuan is gaining momentum as more and more companies in Asia and Europe showed desire to use the currency in the next six months, an industrial survey showed.

Foreign companies that hold offshore yuan deposits are planning to use one or more yuan products in the next six months, indicating wider adoption of the currency, Standard Chartered Bank said today.

The Renminbi Globalization Index, a measure of yuan-based business activity worldwide, showed a seven-fold increase in yuan internationalization between December 2010 and September 2012, mainly driven by trade-settlement payments, the lender said.

A similar survey by HSBC last month also suggested widespread confidence in the future of yuan as a major global currency among Chinese enterprises.

Standard Chartered said Hong Kong currently dominates the offshore yuan business, with a four-fifth share, while Singapore and London are emerging as new yuan-business centers, each taking up a tenth of the market. Taipei and New York are expected to join this club in the coming years.

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