迪拜的人民币之路

DUBAI:ON THE ROAD TO NEXT OFFSHORE RMB CENTER

2014年12月9日,阿央行的高级官员透露,阿联酋与中国央行都希望＂启动＂已经签署的350亿元人民币互换协议,还将在阿联酋设立一个人民币清算中心。这个清算中心在哪儿,颇为牵动人心。

The central banks of the UAE and China aim to activate their 35 billion yuan currency swap agreement soon and a clearing transactions center in the Chinese currency in UAE is to be set up as well,a senior UAE Central Bank official said on Dec.9th.The concerning question soon follows- where will this center be?The fact that four major Chinese banks have established either a branch or subsidiary in DIFC has led Dubai to provide RMB clearing services:banks in Dubai may open their RMB account in the four Chinese banks,which can not only use the clearing systems in China to get cash settlement,but also transfer funds offshore.As for the RMB transactions,the four major Chinese banks are fully capable of setting market price and becoming the market maker in Middle East because of their enormous RMB assets.However,with the currency swap and four major Chinese bank in Dubai,there are some issues to be tackle to make a real offshore RMB center.First of all,who is going to use the RMB?The second question regards who is going to pay the interest.