SHANGHAI:  Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Ltd said on Monday that it has become the first foreign bank qualified as a direct participant in China's Cross-border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) outside mainland China.

Backed by the People's Bank of China (PBOC), China launched the CIPS clearing and settlement services system in 2015 to internationalise yuan use. It allows global banks to clear cross-border yuan transactions directly onshore, instead of through clearing banks in offshore yuan hubs.

(Reporting by Andrew Galbraith; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman) ((Andrew.Galbraith@tr.com; +86 21 2083 0079; Reuters Messaging: andrew.galbraith.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net ; Twitter: https://twitter.com/apgalbraith))