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Britain's Chancellor hails historic Chinese renminbi deal with Airbus

Xinhua, July 18, 2015 Adjust font size:

The first export agency deal anywhere in the world for a loan in offshore Chinese renminbi (RMB) was described Friday as historic by Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Speaking in North Wales at plane-maker Airbus, which supports 100,000 jobs in Britain, George Osborne said the company would benefit from a new delivery to China Southern Airways thanks to support from UK Export Finance.

During a tour of the Airbus factory in Broughton, the Chancellor welcomed news that UK Export Finance's recent move to add the RMB to its list of supported currencies has immediately paid off, enabling the purchase of a single Airbus A330 aircraft by China Southern Airways.

"The historic deal is the first by an export credit agency anywhere in the world for a loan in Chinese offshore RMB and paves the way for enormous opportunities for UK exporters and companies in the supply chain," said the Chancellor.

He was joined on the tour by the Secretary of State for Wales, Stephen Crabb, to inspect a new facility at the factory which marks the latest in over two billion pounds (3.13 billion U.S. dollars) investment in manufacturing at Broughton, securing the future of thousands of jobs in Wales.

Osborne said: "This is a truly historic deal which paves the way for the best British companies to export much more easily to the Chinese market."

Crabb said: "The UK government is making it easier for big employers like Airbus to do business in China, and that is great news for the economy of North Wales."

The expansion at the Airbus plant is part of the company's production of Beluga Aircraft at Broughton, with the new facility allowing the huge aircraft to be loaded in all types of weather.

David Godfrey, chief executive, UK Export Finance said: "This pioneering deal clearly demonstrates that as the UK's export credit agency, we have the flexibility to respond to the demands of modern finance deals and back exporters in Wales and across the UK through the economic cycle. RMB is already the second most used currency in trade finance after the U.S. dollar and we fully expect to support many more such deals in the future."

The offshore version of the renminbi has overtaken the euro as the second biggest trade finance currency after the dollar, he added. Endit