HAIKOU, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- South China's Hainan Province recorded 326.8 billion yuan (about 46 billion U.S. dollars) of renminbi (RMB) cross-border settlement in 2023, representing a massive 122.9 percent year on year increase, said local authorities on Wednesday.

It marked the first time the province had seen its cross-border RMB use account for over a half of its total cross-border settlement in both domestic and foreign currencies, according to Huang Ge, deputy head of the Hainan branch of the People's Bank of China.

By the end of 2023, the banking institutions of Hainan handled cross-border RMB business involving 3,729 enterprises across the province, up 27.3 percent year on year.

The province also recorded a substantial increase in RMB cross-border settlement with major countries and regions, including ASEAN. In 2023, the RMB cross-border settlement between Hainan and the ASEAN countries soared by 149.6 percent year on year.

During the same period, Hainan's RMB cross-border settlement with Belt and Road partners increased by 146.2 percent year on year, while that with member countries of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) gained 133.2 percent year on year.