Hungary

CLS Group added the Hungarian forint to the list of currencies eligible for settlement. The group, which settles trillions of dollars in foreign exchange transactions a month, now settles payment instructions in 18 currencies.

In this round-up, Hong Kong RMB clearing dropped in September, Macau's RMB deposits and cross-border settlement also fell in July, South Korea's RMB deposits kept contracting in September, and Bank of China Budapest branch formally launched RMB clearing services.

Private equity firm Pamplona has completed the syndication of a €217m debt facility to buy Budapest-headquartered Partner in Pet Food (PPF).

It's been a good week for Europe's renminbi ambitions with the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (Safe) extending a Rmb50bn RMB qualified foreign institutional investor (RQFII) quota to Hungary, while China Construction Bank (CCB) listed its RQFII ETF on Paris’ Euronext.

The Budapest branch of Bank of China was appointed by People's Bank of China as the official RMB clearing bank in the country on June 27, PBoC said in a statement.

Hungary is busy positioning itself as the first potential offshore renminbi hub in Central and Eastern Europe. Its central bank, Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB), launched an RMB initiative earlier this year to push Budapest's credentials and Daniel Palotai, the bank's executive director for monetary policy, spoke to GlobalRMB about the bank’s plans.

Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB) — the Hungarian central bank — is planning to buy RMB-denominated bonds for its official holdings.