UK Approves Three Chinese Banks to Sell Non Chinese Debt Denominated in Yuan

China’s bid to turn its currency into a global heavyweight got a boost Thursday with news that Britain will become the first Western nation to borrow money in yuan.

The U.K. government has appointed three banks — Bank of China (BACHF), HSBC (HSBC) and Standard Chartered (SCBFF) — to sell the first non-Chinese sovereign bond in the currency.

Proceeds from the sale will be added to the U.K.’s official foreign currency reserves, worth just over $100 billion. Borrowing to finance government spending is carried out exclusively in British pounds.

Most countries hold their reserves in U.S. dollars or euros. The U.K. is no exception, although it does have smaller amounts of Japanese yen and Canadian dollars.

Investors will be given more details about the U.K. bond on Monday.

The first sale is likely to be relatively small, raising perhaps the equivalent of just $300 million. But if other countries follow suit, the yuan will gain new stature in global currency markets.

Beijing has kept tight control of the yuan in the past, limiting money flows in and out of the country and holding down the exchange rate as a way to boost manufacturing and exports.

via CNN

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.