RMB savings soars to 9 billion in HK
(People's Daily Online)
Updated: 2004-12-06 17:20

Renminbi (RMB) bank savings in Hong Kong was rising at an amazing speed in the past months, said William Ryback, Deputy Chief Executive of Hong Kong Monetary Authority, on December 4.

As Hong Kong's Takung Pao reported, Mr. Ryback attended the quarterly meeting of Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB) on December 4. He noted at the meeting that there has been speculatonis on RMB since 2004 and RMB savings in the banking system of Hong Kong has also increased rapidly. In November along, the amount rose by 600 million yuan to a total of nine billion yuan.

Mr. Ryback held, the central bank's decision to lift the limit of cash allowed to be carried into and out of Hong Kong, from 6,000 yuan to 20,000 yuan, will help Hong Kong step up its bidding to be the offshore center for RMB. However the related schedule is not likely to be rushed because it is the central government that makes the decision.

He predicted that it is possible for Hong Kong to become the offshore center for RMB within five years and he believed that Hong Kong banks would have been ready for it then.

For this, Raymond Or, HSBC's general manager said, the measure will benefit Hong Kong's consumer market and help raise RMB circulation in the region, which is conducive for it to become RMB settlement center. But as RMB exchange is still unavailable for free exchange, it is too early to talk about it.

Mr. Or analyzed that the policy will indirectly help bring up RMB savings in Hong Kong, but, against the impact of daily exchanges and limit on the registration of the permanent company address, it is not likely to surge.

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