China

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) announced on Wednesday that it planned to introduce the first RMB denominated aluminium, zinc and copper mini futures on December 1.

Bank of China released on October 16 its latest cross border RMB index (CRI) report, which fell by 13% to 202 points due to lower usage of RMB for cross border trade settlement and direct investment.

A new report by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce highlights the business benefits of launching an RMB hub in North America. Should Canada get there first, the report estimates that the country would see a $30bn boost in exports over the next ten years.

Hang Seng Indexes and Markit this week launched the Hang Seng Markit iBoxx Offshore RMB Bond Index family (HSM iBoxx), which includes more than 600 indices classified according to criteria such as issuer types, sectors, rating, maturity and size.

The Singapore Exchange (SGX) this week launched FX futures contracts for Chinese onshore and offshore renminbi (USD/CNH and CNY/USD). Transactions in the new RMB futures achieved a first day volume of 1,836 contracts on October 20, or approximately Rmb1.1bn in notional value ($180m), said SGX.

The high level of demand for the UK’s debut offshore renminbi bond this week, the first from a non-Chinese sovereign, will be encouraging for other countries looking at printing in the internationalising currency. Two more are thought to be looking at selling renminbi bonds.

Yunnan Energy Investment barely made it past the finishing line with its debut offshore renminbi bond on October 15, with weak market sentiment threatening to derail the deal.

Direct onshore trading of the renminbi (RMB) and the Singapore dollar (SGD) is expected to kick off very soon, and could come as early as this month, two Singapore-based sources have told GlobalRMB.

The UK’s debut offshore renminbi bond — the first from a non-Chinese sovereign — was almost twice subscribed despite being Rmb1bn ($162.8m) bigger than market participants expected.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) and the Hong Kong stock exchange (HKEx) completed another round of system testing on October 11, ahead of a rumoured October 27 launch. But issues concerning A-share stock sales and China tax requirements are still being worked on by regulators.

Germany has signed comprehensive economic agreements with China worth $18.1bn as part of premier Li Keqiang's European tour, while Russia has obtained an Rmb150bn swap line. The Russian financial sector, including the Moscow Exchange and lender VTB, has also stepped up its China relationship with a number of co-operation agreements.

Yunnan Energy Investment’s hopes of pricing its first offshore renminbi bond appears to be bleak with books yet to be covered after one day of bookbuilding.