Singapore central bank to open China rep office

June 27, 2012

A woman walks in front of the headquarter of China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China, in Beijing in this file photo. China’s central bank said June 27, 2012 that the Monetary Authority of Singapore will set up a representative office in China. – Reuters picBEIJING, June 27 – The Monetary Authority of Singapore will set up a representative office in China, becoming the seventh foreign central bank to have a presence in the world’s No. 2 economy, the People’s Bank of China said today.

“This will help boost cooperation between the two central banks and promote bilateral financial cooperation as well as further development in bilateral economic and trade relations,” the Chinese central bank said in a statement on its website, www.pbc.gov.cn.

China has allowed selected foreign central banks to invest in its domestic inter-bank bond market as part of Beijing’s drive to ease capital restrictions and to make the Chinese yuan a global currency.

Singapore and other global financial centres like London are seeking to capitalise on the rapid growth of the off-shore yuan bond market, which is dominated by Hong Kong.

The city state struck a 150 billion yuan (RM75.40 billion) three-year currency swap with China in 2010.

Its pool of yuan deposits has grown to around 60 billion yuan, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported on June 13.

The Bank of Korea set up a representative office in China in 2003 – the first among foreign central banks. Others include Japan, Thailand and Malaysia. – Reuters