OREANDA-NEWS. May 30, 2011. Since the launch of RMB settlement in cross-border trade pilot program in July 2009, by making full use of integrative advantage, Bank of China has achieved rapid increase in business scale, diversifying products and services and with more and more extensive clearing channels, reported the press-centre of Bank of China.

During the period from July 2009 to the end of March 2010, the bank's cross-border RMB settlement transaction volume remained the market-leading position with more than RMB 740 billion. More specifically, its domestic branches' transaction volume exceeded RMB 300 billion, with the market share surpassing 30%. Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited, as the participating bank, handled a transaction volume of RMB 310 billion, maintaining a leading position in the market. The settlement volume in the other overseas branches of the bank approached RMB 130 billion.

In the first quarter of 2011, the transaction volume of cross-border RMB settlement through Bank of China's domestic branches reached RMB 135.8 billion. In the same period, Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited, as the participating bank, processed the transactions of the kind with total amount of RMB 118.7 billion, while the settlement volume of the other overseas branches remained unchanged at RMB 106.4 billion compared to that of the last whole year. 

According to statistics, the bank's domestic branches already handled more than 20,000 transactions of cross-border RMB settlement for thousands of customers in various industries including electrical engineering, communication equipment, electronic products, transportation and communication, chemical engineering, manufacturing and wholesale & retail. And these customers can be found in over 100 countries and regions. To date, the bank has opened over 350 RMB cross-border clearing accounts for overseas participating banks in Asia, Europe, America, Oceania and Africa and has achieved the leading position with the worldwide clearing network basically established.

Bank of China will give full play to its function as the main channel for cross-border RMB settlement, continue to carry out product innovation, increase international competitiveness, and consolidate its leading position in business. It will provide customers with high-quality, comprehensive and efficient trade services, striving to become a top-ranking international trade finance bank.