China

In this round-up, RMB deposits in Hong Kong stay flat, RMB cross border trade settlement falls 2.3%, Luxembourg RMB deposits rose 5% to Rmb67.2bn ($11bn) in the first half of the year, and Eurogiro launches direct RMB payments to China.

General Motors is planning to introduce its captive auto finance arm into the Chinese market later this year, paving the way for more issuance of auto loan securitizations in the world’s largest auto market. But concerns still remain around the asset class, in a country where securitization laws are relatively new.

Investors looking to take advantage of the landmark Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect mutual equity trading scheme will now also have access to primary offerings.

China is to allow South Korea’s commercial banks, securities houses and insurance companies to invest directly in China’s onshore inter-bank bond market (CIBM) via renminbi, two Seoul based sources have told GlobalRMB. The move is the first time that foreign commercial financial institutions not operating in China will have been awarded this access and is being seen as additional regulatory support by China for South Korea’s local RMB business.

Bank of China Hong Kong Asset Management (BOCHK AM) and Citi have teamed up to launch a Luxembourg-based RMB high yield bond UCITS fund. China’s Safe also announced that it had added Rmb4.7bn ($766m) to its RQFII programme in September.

In this round-up, Safe issues an additional Rmb4.7bn of RQFII quotas and the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect is rumoured to be launching on October 27.

The Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (Kase) announced on September 25 the opening of the first trading session for the tenge-RMB currency pair, while neighbouring Russia is also intensifying its push for more widespread RMB usage.

One third of the world’s financial institutions are now using RMB for payments to China and Hong Kong, according to the September RMB Tracker from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift). The acceleration has been accompanied by a tripling of RMB payments value over the last two years and an intensification of efforts to prepare for the upcoming Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect launch.

Investment manager Allianz Global Iinvestors (AllianzGI) has launched an RMB hedged share class enabling investors to access RMB holdings. The fund will cover a variety of asset classes and regions.

China’s Datang Telecom Technology sold its inaugural international bond on Monday September 22. Although forces of nature delayed the launch of the unrated three year offshore renminbi issue, the deal ultimately drew a very warm response from investors.

The launch this month of an international trading board at the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) in the city’s free trade zone (FTZ) has sparked a surge of interest in gold trading with China and marks an important step in using commodity markets to pursue the country's goal of renminbi internationalisation. The board, which launched on September 18, allows foreign parties to trade RMB-denominated gold contracts for the first time.

Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) announced this week that it had amended overseas (including Mainland China) investment rules for insurance companies in a bid to enhance their investment return and efficiency.