SINGAPORE – Eligible corporates and individuals in Chongqing, China, can now conduct cross-border Renminbi (RMB) transactions with financial institutions and corporates in Singapore.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has welcomed the move by the People’s Bank of China Chongqing Operations Office (PBC Chongqing), said a MAS statement today.
PBC Chongqing’s directive has issued one of the agreed outcomes in financial co-operation between China and Singapore during the state visit to Singapore in November 2015 by the President of the People’s Republic of China, Mr Xi Jinping.
The directive allows corporates in Chongqing to issue RMB bonds in Singapore and repatriate the funds raised in full.
In addition to Chongqing, the funds raised can be used outside of the municipality for the development of economic activities and infrastructure in China’s western region that include the six provinces of Gansu, Guizhou, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Yunnan, and five autonomous regions of Guangxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Tibet, and Xinjiang.
The directive also allows equity investment funds in Chongqing to make direct investments outside of China, including Singapore and the ASEAN region, and individuals in Chongqing can make RMB remittances to Singapore to settle current account transactions.
The initiative will facilitate greater use of RMB in the region and contribute to the growth of the offshore RMB market in Singapore, said the statement.
It will also strengthen financial connectivity between Chongqing and Singapore.
This will be useful in achieving the objective of enhancing modern connectivity and services in China’s western region under the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity, announced in November 2015.
spanaech@sph.com.sg
