London's RMB business keeps steady growth: report

The Renminbi, or RMB, denominated trade financing in London increased by 10 percent to around 42.8 billion Chinese yuan in 2013, compared to that of 2012, said the City of London Wednesday.[Special coverage]

Export financing showed particularly strong results, with a substantial increase of 78 percent to 11.8 billion Chinese yuan in 2013, while import financing and letters of credit decreased by 2 and 11 percent respectively, said the City in a report authored by Bourse Consult.

Regarding the transaction figures, however, the average daily value on trading in deliverable RMB denominated foreign exchange (FX) products increased by 140 percent to 18.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2013, while trading in non-deliverable products shrank by 27 percent to 6.6 billion dollars, data showed.

Spot trading in RMB denominated FX products saw a 123 percent year-on-year increase to a daily value of 5.6 billion dollars in 2013. And total RMB FX trading in London was up by 50 percent to 25.3 billion dollars per day in 2013, figures showed.

Total RMB deposits in London at the end of December 2013 was 14.6 billion Chinese yuan, 23 percent higher than the 11.9 billion Chinese yuan a year before, data also showed.

Mark Boleat, Policy Chairman at the City of London Corporation said in a statement:" The internationalization of the RMB is a fundamental factor in China's economic development and a long-term sustainable offshore RMB market in London will support this process, benefiting both the UK and China."

"We expect to see a deepening and widening of London's RMB markets, with more participants as well as new opportunities in investment, as market confidence continues to grow," added Boleat.

This study is the third full year survey in a series reporting on London RMB trading volumes, said the City. Thirteen banks, which are major players of London's RMB market and taking up over 85 percent of market activity, participated in the survey.