Since the People's Bank of China (PBC) introduced the renminbi (RMB) cross-border initiative in July 2009 to promote the internationalisation of RMB, the number of activities in Singapore for offshore RMB solutions has grown significantly. Citi Singapore has seen a doubling of RMB account openings and significant increase in volume of payment processing as more trade transactions between Singapore and China are settled in the currency.

For example, Citi recently completed its first cross-border RMB lending transaction for a European food company which operates its treasury center in Singapore. The transaction was at the back of PBC's pilot scheme for RMB cross-border lending which was introduced last year.

The transaction, facilitated end-to-end by Citi China and Citi Singapore, is structured to optimise the surplus liquidity in the European food company's operations in China. This is a significant step forward for Singapore companies with subsidiaries in China as they can improve their overall group liquidity position. These companies can now better manage their excess cash and achieve greater efficiency in their global fund usage and allocation.

The full suite of offshore RMB solutions that Citi Singapore provides to corporate treasurers today include current accounts, payments, receivables, time deposits, trade services and trade financing solutions under LC, along with spot and forward FX transactions, FX hedging solutions and structured deposits.