China signs RMB business MoUs with Luxembourg, France

The People's Bank of China (PBOC), China's central bank, on Sunday announced that it has inked two Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) on renminbi (RMB) business with the central banks of Luxembourg and France.

The MoU between the PBOC and Banque centrale du Luxembourg (BCL) aims to establish cooperation in terms of oversight, exchange of information and assessment pertaining to the renminbi business in Luxembourg in view of a forthcoming designation, by the PBOC, of a renminbi clearing bank in Luxembourg, said the PBoC.

Zhou Xiaochuan, Governor of the PBOC, and Gaston Reinesch, Governor of the BCL, on Saturday signed the MoU in the margins of the Bank for International Settlements' Annual General Meeting taking place in Basel, Switzerland, the BCL said in a statement on its website.` The BCL will monitor the renminbi market in Luxembourg and share relevant data with the PBOC, noted the statement.

Zhou and Christian Noyer, Governor of the Banque de France, on Saturday signed a separate MoU to set up shortly a renminbi payment system in Paris.

This MoU was the first step towards the creation of a renminbi clearing and settlement infrastructure in Paris. This payment system will function on the basis of a clearing bank that will be designated by the PBOC, the French central bank said in a statement on its website.