OTTAWA: An official release from the office of Canadian Minister of Finance Joe Oliver announced he will be the guest speaker at an Industrial and Commercial Bank of China event launching the Canadian Renminbi Clearing Centre & Trading Hub.
Typically, this involves setting up the necessary financial infrastructure, which includes a central bank swap line, a clearing bank, investment licences/quotas and other clearing/trading elements as well as active marketing by the private and public sectors.
In recent months, the People’s Bank of China has approved RMB-clearing banks in centres such as London, Frankfurt and Seoul and has signed agreements with Paris and Luxembourg. Also, 25 other countries have signed currency swap agreements with China so far. It is becoming a crowded field but as yet there are no countries in the Americas that boast RMB trading hubs. A quick-moving Canada is now the first, giving the country a significant competitive advantage.
