S Korea picks 12 banks for won-yuan direct trading

South Korea's central bank said Monday that it has picked 12 local and foreign banks as market makers for the direct trading between currencies of South Korea and China to boost transactions in the won-yuan market, which is scheduled to be launched in Seoul in December.

Seven domestic banks and five Seoul branches of foreign banks were designated as the market makers, according to the Bank of Korea.

They included Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank, Industrial Bank of Korea, Korea Development Bank, Standard Chartered Korea, Citi Bank Korea and Korea Exchange Bank. The five foreign banks were Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan Chase, HSBC, China's Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Bank of Communications.

The market makers will present bid and offer prices and provide liquidity at the won-yuan direct trading market, which is set to be launched in December, to boost interbank transactions between the South Korean and Chinese currencies.

China and South Korea signed a deal in July to launch a yuan clearing service in Seoul and open the won-yuan trading market in the city.

China has reached agreements with Germany, Britain, France and Luxembourg to open local renminbi trading hubs as the Chinese currency has been increasingly used in global trade and investment.