With the notion of the Asian Century beginning to take shape, economies that conduct business in renminbi (RMB) – the Chinese currency – hold the advantage for their exporters, according to a recent HSBC Commercial Banking survey.
The 11-market survey notes that while two-thirds of companies in mainland China and Hong Kong said that foreign firms doing business with China gain financial and relationship advantages from using RMB, awareness of these potential benefits varies widely overseas.
Overall, 59 per cent of decision-makers surveyed said that they plan to increase their cross-border activity with mainland China over the next 12 months, rising to 86 per cent in the UK, 73 per cent in the UAE and 63 per cent in France. At the same time, only 22 per cent said that their company currently settles business in RMB.
The survey further notes that RMB adaptability outside of China is the highest in France (26 per cent) and Germany (23 per cent) respectively.