Singapore may become the third location outside of Hong Kong and the mainland to trade the reniminbi, as Beijing moves gradually toward its goal of allowing the cross-border trade and investment of its currency, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Monetary Authority of Singapore is in talks China’s central bank to become a market for buying and selling the renminbi, according to people familiar with the matter. Offshore trading in renminbi has proved very popular in Hong Kong since its introduction last year. The local market for renminbi-denominated bonds, or “dim sum” bonds, is expected to reach US$27.7 billion by year-end, according to analysts at the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.LSE). China is also considering lifting a ban that prevents domestic banks from participating in the offshore renminbi-futures market, according to unnamed sources. Foreign banks like HSBC (HBC.NYSE, HSBA.LSE, HSB.Euronext, 0005.HK) and Standard Chartered (STAN.LSE, 2888.HK, STAN.NSE) currently dominate the market, which allows players to bet on the renminbi’s appreciations and companies to guard against fluctuations in currency.
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