10 December 2015
DOHA: The Qatar-based Renminbi (RMB) clearing centre has emerged as the world's third largest Chinese currency clearing facility within a span of six months. More than RMB131bn ($20bn) have been cleared through the Centre since it was launched in June 2015.
The RMB Centre has been improving ease of transactions between companies in Qatar and across the region and China through offering clearing and settlement services - increasing connectivity between markets that have strong economic and commercial ties. Now, it is the 3rd largest Industrial and Commercial Bank of China ( ICBC)-managed clearing facility in the world by volume, an official spokesperson stated yesterday.
Qatar RMB Centre was opened in June, following a Memorandum of Understanding signed in November 2014 between the representatives of the Qatar Central Bank and People's Bank of China. The Qatar RMB Centre acts as a hub that conducts and facilitates a wide variety of financial services denominated in RMB. It allows businesses in Qatar and the region to settle their transactions in RMB directly. There are 18 official RMB clearing banks worldwide, the Qatar RMB Centre being one of the newest and the first in the Middle East and North Africa region.
In a step forward for the Middle East & North Africa region's RMB clearing centre, the Qatar Central Bank (QCB) has convened the first Qatar Renminbi Centre Advisory Council Meeting. The meeting is seen as a step forward for the Middle East & North Africa region's first RMB clearing centre.
The Centre's Advisory Council is comprised of representatives of Qatar's leading banks and financial sector stakeholders, including Qatar Central Bank,Qatar National Bank, Masraf Al Rayan, Qatar Islamic Bank, Commercial Bank, Qatar International Islamic Bank, Al Khaliji Bank, Standard Chartered, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority and Qatar Stock Exchange. Other institutions will also be invited soon.
The QCB established the Advisory Council, with the purpose of promoting market awareness of the benefits of the RMB Clearing Centre and to propose well-defined market education initiatives.
Speaking about the meeting, Kamal Nagi, Director at QCB and Chairman of the Advisory Council, said, "The region's first RMB centre is on its way to fulfilling its objective of opening the lines of trade more fluidly between the Middle East, North Africa and China. We are pleased to have the support of the leading banks in Qatar as part of the advisory council. This meeting gave us the opportunity to update our partners on progress since establishing the Centre and to gather feedback on how we can together expand its footprint for the benefit of businesses in the region and in China."
Roger Tang, ICBC Doha representative said, "We are pleased to have the opportunity to update the participating bank representatives and get their input on the path forward to the bank. Those customers who have already availed of the Centre are seeing increased ease in transactions with Chinese counterparties, equating to real savings on the total cost of transaction. With the support of QCB and Qatar-based banks we see room for significant growth positioning Qatar as a hub for RMB transactions in the region."
As of last year, 10.6 percent of total imports to Qatar were from China, second only to the U.S. Chinese companies are active in the local market, with 15 operating in Qatar in addition to the 181 joint ventures with Qatari partners. Earlier this month the IMF decided to include the RMB in the benchmark Special Drawing Rights basket of currencies, joining the US Dollar,Euro, Japanese Yen, and British Pound as of next October.
DOHA: The Qatar-based Renminbi (RMB) clearing centre has emerged as the world's third largest Chinese currency clearing facility within a span of six months. More than RMB131bn ($20bn) have been cleared through the Centre since it was launched in June 2015.
The RMB Centre has been improving ease of transactions between companies in Qatar and across the region and China through offering clearing and settlement services - increasing connectivity between markets that have strong economic and commercial ties. Now, it is the 3rd largest Industrial and Commercial Bank of China ( ICBC)-managed clearing facility in the world by volume, an official spokesperson stated yesterday.
Qatar RMB Centre was opened in June, following a Memorandum of Understanding signed in November 2014 between the representatives of the Qatar Central Bank and People's Bank of China. The Qatar RMB Centre acts as a hub that conducts and facilitates a wide variety of financial services denominated in RMB. It allows businesses in Qatar and the region to settle their transactions in RMB directly. There are 18 official RMB clearing banks worldwide, the Qatar RMB Centre being one of the newest and the first in the Middle East and North Africa region.
In a step forward for the Middle East & North Africa region's RMB clearing centre, the Qatar Central Bank (QCB) has convened the first Qatar Renminbi Centre Advisory Council Meeting. The meeting is seen as a step forward for the Middle East & North Africa region's first RMB clearing centre.
The Centre's Advisory Council is comprised of representatives of Qatar's leading banks and financial sector stakeholders, including Qatar Central Bank,Qatar National Bank, Masraf Al Rayan, Qatar Islamic Bank, Commercial Bank, Qatar International Islamic Bank, Al Khaliji Bank, Standard Chartered, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority and Qatar Stock Exchange. Other institutions will also be invited soon.
The QCB established the Advisory Council, with the purpose of promoting market awareness of the benefits of the RMB Clearing Centre and to propose well-defined market education initiatives.
Speaking about the meeting, Kamal Nagi, Director at QCB and Chairman of the Advisory Council, said, "The region's first RMB centre is on its way to fulfilling its objective of opening the lines of trade more fluidly between the Middle East, North Africa and China. We are pleased to have the support of the leading banks in Qatar as part of the advisory council. This meeting gave us the opportunity to update our partners on progress since establishing the Centre and to gather feedback on how we can together expand its footprint for the benefit of businesses in the region and in China."
Roger Tang, ICBC Doha representative said, "We are pleased to have the opportunity to update the participating bank representatives and get their input on the path forward to the bank. Those customers who have already availed of the Centre are seeing increased ease in transactions with Chinese counterparties, equating to real savings on the total cost of transaction. With the support of QCB and Qatar-based banks we see room for significant growth positioning Qatar as a hub for RMB transactions in the region."
As of last year, 10.6 percent of total imports to Qatar were from China, second only to the U.S. Chinese companies are active in the local market, with 15 operating in Qatar in addition to the 181 joint ventures with Qatari partners. Earlier this month the IMF decided to include the RMB in the benchmark Special Drawing Rights basket of currencies, joining the US Dollar,Euro, Japanese Yen, and British Pound as of next October.
© The Peninsula 2015
