OREANDA-NEWS. December 01, 2014. The first day direct RMB-SGD trading was allowed on China's inter-bank foreign exchange market, ICBC concluded the first batch of direct RMB-SGD transactions after the market opened as the market maker.

On the day, the Bank continuously made RMB-SGD quotations on the inter-bank foreign exchange market to provide market liquidity, and completed totally 60 deals with an aggregated trading volume of RMB 750 million (equivalent to SGD156 million). Meanwhile, the Bank has innovated on quotation methods and optimized quotation efficiency by introducing a variety of international forex market data sources, and provided quality and efficient market-making services with industry-leading quotation levels. On October 29, 2014, ICBC completed the first RMB-SGD forward transaction and swap transaction upon the rollout of direct RMB-SGD trading, and continuously made RMB-SGD quotations for forward and swap transactions of all maturities.

An ICBC official said that as one of the first market makers for direct RMB-SGD trading on the inter-bank foreign exchange market, the Bank will fully leverage its business advantages in the global market and extensive product and quotation experience, actively perform its market-making obligations, and provide continuous bilateral RMB-SGD quotations on the inter-bank market to provide liquidity. In the meantime, ICBC will further enhance its quotation capacity, diversify product lines and promote the robust growth of direct RMB-SGD trading.

In recent years, with deepening trade and economic ties and more frequent personnel exchange between China and Singapore, RMB has been increasingly used and accepted by local companies and individuals in financial activities such as trade, investment, personal settlement and wealth management. Developing direct RMB-SGD trading is instrumental to the formation of direct RMB-SGD exchange rates, reducing currency conversion costs, promoting bilateral trade and investment, and further facilitating the RMB internationalization process. On October 28, 2014, when the Head Office of ICBC completed the first batch of direct RMB-SGD transactions, the ICBC Singapore Branch, designated by the PBOC as the local RMB clearing bank, completed the first local direct RMB-SGD transaction in the capacity of a floor trading member of the China Foreign Exchange Trading System & National Interbank Funding Center (CFETS). As the local RMB clearing bank, Singapore Branch is the only local bank qualified to directly participate in the transactions of CFETS. Other local participant banks can obtain direct RMB-SGD quotations inside China through the clearing bank.

Up to now, a total of nine currencies can be directly traded with RMB on the inter-bank market, including USD, JPY, AUD, NZD, RUB, GBP, MYR, EUR and SGD. ICBC can provide continuous trading quotations of all the above currencies against RMB on the inter-bank market, representing the widest range of currencies for market making.