BOC authorized as RMB clearing bank in Frankfurt
CCB authorized to be RMB clearing bank in London
Bank of Communications of China was appointed as a clearing bank for the direct won-yuan trading in South Korea, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Friday.
Citing the People's Bank of China (PBOC)'s announcement, the South Korean central bank said in a statement that the Bank of Communications will serve as a clearing bank in the market where the Renminbi will be exchangeable directly for the South Korean currency.
The PBOC and the BOK agreed Thursday to launch the direct won- yuan trading market in Seoul as early as this year to reduce transaction costs and foreign exchange risks. >>>More
To gain yuan funds now, South Korean companies and financial institutions should convert the local currency into the U.S. dollar, before exchanging the dollar for the yuan mainly in Hong Kong, where exchange commissions were charged.
Meanwhile, Bank of China and the Korea Exchange, South Korea's main bourse operator, inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in central Seoul for cooperation in expanding the offshore yuan market.
Under the deal, the two sides will cooperate with each other when listing yuan-denominated financial products in the Korea Exchange, while jointly developing new financial products in the Chinese currency.
During a summit between visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-hye held Thursday, South Korea agreed to encourage local and foreign firms here to sell yuan bonds in the country in a bid to boost financial transactions in the Chinese currency.
A series of agreements were reached among South Korean and Chinese businessmen accompanying President Xi, who arrived here Thursday for a two-day state visit, his first trip to Seoul since he took office last year.
LG Chem, the world's largest maker of electric vehicle (EV) batteries, singed an MOU with Chinese authorities to set up a joint venture and build a factory in Nanjing for producing such batteries. >>>More
POSCO, South Korea's top steelmaker, agreed with China's Chongqing Iron & Steel to invest 3.3 billion U.S. dollars and cooperate in the new steelmaking technology, cold-rolled steel plating and the mineral mines development. >>>More
SK Telecom, South Korea's No.1 mobile operator, reached a strategic partnership with China's Zhengwei Group to cooperate in the cutting-edge information and communications technology.
Beijing, Seoul agree to directly trade currencies
China and South Korea plan to directly trade their currencies, marking a step forward in the renminbi's internationalization.
The announcement came in a joint statement from the Chinese and South Korean governments during President Xi Jinping 's visit to South Korea on Thursday.
An RMB clearing facility is expected to be set up in Seoul to further boost yuan trading in the country, where deposits of the Chinese currency have surged this year. >>>More
Yuan deposits makes up over 20 pct of foreign currency deposits in S.Korea
Chinese yuan deposits in the banking sector of South Korea surpassed a landmark 20 percent of the total foreign currency deposits for the first time in June, central bank data showed Friday.
Bank deposits denominated in the Chinese currency reached a fresh record high of 11.97 billion U.S. dollars as of the end of June, up 0.64 billion dollars from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The figure accounted for 20.3 percent of 58.95 billion dollars in foreign currency deposits combined. The portion exceeded the milestone level for the first time since the BOK began compiling the data since September 2000. >>>More
RMB in full vogue in South Korea
Chinese tourists no long need to bring a large amount of U.S. dollars when travelling in South Korea, as they can choose to use China UnionPay, or even RMB in cash in some stores.
"The store I just passed by offers five percent discount for China UnionPay users. Some stores in Seoul even accept China's RMB in cash," a Chinese tourists surnamed Xiao said.
For Chinese tourists, it is more convenient for them to use China UnionPay and cash, or they have to spend much more time on finding currency exchange booths and deciding on a favorable price. >>>More
S.Korean firms boom in China
Twenty years after China and Republic of Korea established diplomatic ties, enterprises from ROK see their business booming in China, and some even regard China as their second home market, China Business News reported Friday.
Statistics show that ROK enterprises' accumulated direct investment in China has topped $50 billion, compared with China's $480 million direct investment in ROK, according to the report.
China exported 107.43 billion worth of machinery and electronic products to ROK in 2013, while its imports from ROK on this subject was worth $211.19 billion, according to China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products (CCCMB). >>>More
China, ROK trade volume up 2.8%
Trade between China and the Republic of Korea (ROK) amounted to 709.65 billion yuan (115.24 billion U.S. dollars) in the first five months of 2014, up 2.8 percent from the same period last year, customs data showed on Thursday.
In the January-May period, exports to the ROK rose 6.6 percent from a year ago to 250.99 billion yuan, while imports edged up 0.8 percent to 458.66 billion yuan, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC).>>>More
