The market for cross-border yuan trade settlements has begun to take shape in Guangdong's Pearl River Delta, according to a report released by the People's Bank of China (PBOC) on June 8.

According to the "2009 China Regional Financial Performance Report," by the end of 2009, a total of 291 cross-border transactions involving nearly 1.5 billion yuan had been settled in yuan in Guangdong province, which greatly promoted the development of foreign trade in Guangdong.

The PBOC suggested in the report that the next step is to conduct pilot runs of cross-border yuan trade settlement services in more regions at home and abroad as soon as possible, in order to encourage more companies to participate and to strengthen Hong Kong's role as a cross-border yuan trade settlement hub.

With the State Council's approval, four cities in Guangdong -- Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, and Dongguan -- first started trial runs of cross-border yuan trade settlement services on July 7, 2009. According to the report, these cities have established settlement platforms and are preparing to launch relevant financial products.

At the end of 2009, Guangdong had conducted cross-border transactions settled in yuan with 11 countries and regions in Asia, Europe and South America. The yuan's sphere of influence is constantly expanding.

The use of yuan as a settlement for international trade has also promoted trade facilitation. Many companies said the money was transferred much faster when transactions were settled in yuan instead of foreign currencies.

The PBOC said it will further strengthen communications with foreign central banks and enhance monetary cooperation. Moreover, stronger measures will be taken, including accelerating the construction of Hong Kong's offshore yuan market, encouraging foreign banks to develop yuan derivative products, opening up domestic financial markets in moderation and building multi-purpose offshore yuan financial markets.

When developing the cross-border yuan trade settlement business, the PBOC will also improve the monitoring system of the cross-border yuan flows. The system needs basic statistical techniques, various early warning indicators, and the overall regulatory principles so that it can conduct real-time monitoring of the risks involved in cross-border yuan flows.

(People's Daily Online June 10, 2010)