When GlobalRMB was launched in 2014, its focus was on tracking China’s efforts to internationalise its currency and markets. But when China launched the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect in 2014, it heralded a new era for the country's domestic financial market. This was eventually followed by the Shenzhen Connect in 2016, the Bond Connect scheme in 2017, and earlier this year, the groundbreaking Shanghai-London Stock Connect.
In line with these initiatives, our focus changed from reporting on renminbi internationalisation to giving international investors and issuers an insight into accessing the credit and equity markets in Mainland China — through extensive coverage of the bond and stock connect schemes, the rise of Panda bonds, the launch of the Star board and the asset-backed securitization market.
As China’s banks and its financial markets reach new levels of sophistication thanks to their opening up to international investors, our coverage has changed to reflect the new priorities of bankers, investors, issuers and regulators. GlobalRMB was the perfect name for this product when it launched, but the internationalisation of the currency has taken a back seat to the development of China’s capital markets. As such, we will now rename GlobalRMB as GlobalCapital China.
While our name has changed, our focus has not. We had already made the shift to greater capital market coverage, reflecting the increasing importance of foreign investors, rating agencies and financial institutions to the growth of China’s market. The new name simply brings our branding in line with the stories that are shaping China's future — and that our readers care most about.