Banking multinational Standard Chartered's renminbi Globalization Index (RGI) fell to 2,117 in March, down 1 percent from the previous month, the bank announced on Thursday.
Renminbi-denominated cross-border Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) payment was the only positive contributor to the RGI in March. Foreign exchange turnover, offshore renminbi deposits and dim sum bonds all detracted from the index, the London-based bank said in a statement.
RGI, a comprehensive index that measures the internationalization of the offshore renminbi across markets, is the first industry benchmark that effectively tracks the progress of renminbi business activity, according to the bank.
It offers corporates and investors a quantifiable view of the latest trends, size and levels of offshore activity that are driving renminbi adoption.
However, the primary market is showing initial signs of recovery as funding costs started to decline. Standard Chartered keeps its full-year dim sum and Formosa bonds gross issuance forecast at 480 to 500 billion yuan, according to the statement.
There are also more positive dynamics in the making, namely the narrowing of offshore renminbi deposits discount from February and March levels and the surge in southbound flows under the Stock Connect scheme since early April, which will help growth of offshore renminbi deposits, said the statement.
Standard Chartered launched the RGI in November 2012. The RGI's base value of 100 was set on Dec. 31, 2010. The index covers seven markets in offshore renminbi business, including Hong Kong, London, Singapore, China's Taiwan, New York, Seoul and Paris.
It measures business growth in four key areas -- deposits ( denoting store of wealth), dim sum bonds and certificate of deposits (as vehicles for capital raising), trade settlement and other international payments (unit of international commerce) and foreign exchange (unit of exchange).
