· The People’s Bank of China approved Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) as the renminbi clearing bank in Singapore on February 8. Further details including when renminbi clearing services will be available and regulations regarding daily conversions limits are yet to be announced.
· Singapore is in a less favourable position than Hong Kong to be an offshore renminbi centre because it lacks a natural flow of renminbi business and the strong Singapore dollar reduces potential gains from the Chinese currency’s rise, said OCBC chief executive Samuel Tsien as he discussed the bank’s fourth quarter results.
· San Francisco is working on a proposal of become an offshore renminbi hub, according to reports.
· US Treasury nominee Jack Lew said the renminbi is still undervalued when testifying before Senate Finance Committee on February 14.
· Taiwan’s Central Bank of the Republic of China(CBC) said total renminbi savings had reached Rmb1.3 billion on February 7, just one day after 46 of the country’s banks began offering renminbi services. Prior to this the CBC said renminbi deposits at Taiwanese banks reached Rmb24.04 billion in December.
· Standard Chartered’s Renminbi Globalisation Index reached a new high of 748 in December, up from 728 a month earlier.