08 January 2015

FT Guest post: promoting the renminbi will drive China’s financial reforms

For the renminbi to go truly global it needs more than just cross-border trade flows. China needs to make giant strides in the opening of its domestic capital markets to allow renminbi to flow more freely between China and the rest of the world. This will speed up the renminbi’s emergence as an investment currency and bring the ultimate convergence of onshore and offshore markets closer.

The renminbi is already convertible under the current account and the offshore market is showing strong organic growth. At the end of November last year, offshore renminbi deposits exceeded Rmb1.85tn, up from Rmb1.35tn at the end of 2013 and Rmb315m at the end of 2011. We are optimistic that these flows will continue to accelerate as the proportion of China’s total trade settled in renminbi increases. 

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