Tunisia's central bank examines introduction of Chinese yuan into currency reserves

The Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) Thursday announced its intention to introduce the Chinese yuan into Tunisian foreign currency reserves.

The CBT unveiled this in an official statement, saying the move was recommended by the Monetary Policy Committee of Tunisia at the end of November.

Citing financial experts, some Tunisian media estimate that the introduction of the Chinese yuan in the settlement of invoices of Tunisian importations from China would reduce currency risks.

Tunisian importers "would no longer be forced to pay their bills in U.S. dollars even though their Chinese suppliers set prices for them in Chinese yuan," commented the Tunisian online news magazine Leaders.

This online magazine explained that Tunisians are facing a double currency exchange risk between the Tunisian dinar and the U.S. dollar on one side, and between the U.S. dollar and the Chinese yuan on the other side.

In addition, some financial analysts specialized in Tunisian monetary policy estimate that the parity between the Tunisian dinar and the Chinese yuan will be able to reduce the risks linked to the floating U.S. dollar, without influencing the Tunisian importations.

The dinar-Chinese yuan parity helps cut euro domination in commercial transactions, thus having a reservoir of diversified currencies will help reduce the volatility and the instability of different currencies, analysts said. Endi