Reporters' Log

Four banks to begin yuan settlement trials this month

By Yang Zhen (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-03-06 11:32

Four banks - two Chinese banks and two foreign lenders - have reportedly been selected to begin trials of a pilot program that allows the yuan to be used as the settlement currency in some regional trade.

The yuan's settlement trials could begin as soon as the National People's Congress wraps up, Shanghai Securities News quoted an unnamed source as saying. Two of the four banks selected have their headquarters in Shanghai, the newspaper reported.

At a press conference held Friday at the ongoing NPC, Zhou Xiaochuan, head of China's central bank, confirmed the pilot program would start soon but declined to elaborate.

Earlier reports indicated that Bank of China and Bank of Communications could be the Chinese lenders involved.

China's State Council, the cabinet, announced plans to begin yuan settlement trials with some economies in December 2008. The program would permit the use of the yuan in trade between Yunnan and Guangxi with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The Pearl and Yangtze River delta regions would also be permitted to use yuan for settlement for trade with Hong Kong and Macao.

Central Economic Work Conference

• Interest Rate Cut
• 30 Years of Reforms
• Coping with Financial Crisis
• Housing in China
• 2008 Tsinghua Management Global Forum
• more

Hot Words

• 政府注資 pump priming
• 軟環(huán)境 soft environment
• 糧食最低收購價 crops' minimum purchase prices

• 保八 Eight Percent Protection
• 以人為本 Put People First
• 農(nóng)民企業(yè)家 Farmer-turned-entrepreneur
• 窗口指導 window guidance
• 下崗再就業(yè) Re-employment after being laid off
• more

From Foreign Press

• German media give full coverage to Premier's report
• Overseas press praise China's 8% economic growth
• German media: Economy tops agenda at NPC session
• From the foreign press
• World media keeps close watch on 'two sessions'
• more

Letters

• Corruption top issue for public
• China adopts Food Safety Law
• China's economic growth in 2009
• more