China will allow foreign central banks and overseas lenders to start investing in its domestic interbank bond market, in a move aimed at encouraging internationalisation of the Chinese currency.
The People’s Bank of China, the central bank, said yesterday it had launched a pilot project to allow greater foreign access to its largely closed domestic interbank bond market to “encourage cross-border renminbi trade settlement” and “broaden investment channels for renminbi to flow back [to China]”.
Foreign central banks, lenders in Hong Kong and Macao that already conduct renminbi clearing, and overseas banks involved in renminbi cross-border trade settlement will be allowed to participate in the Rmb19,500bn ($2,870bn) interbank bond market.