OREANDA-NEWS. December 01, 2014. The first day direct EUR-RMB trading was allowed on China's inter-bank foreign exchange market, ICBC concluded the first direct EUR-RMB transaction after the market opened. Upon conclusion of the transaction, the Bank continuously made EUR-RMB quotations on the inter-bank foreign exchange market to provide market liquidity. Up to now, a total of eight currencies can be directly traded with RMB on the inter-bank market, including USD, JPY, AUD, NZD, RUB, GBP, MYR and EUR. ICBC can provide continuous trading quotations of all the above currencies against RMB on the inter-bank market, with the most complete range of currencies for market making.

An ICBC official said that as one of the first market makers for direct RMB-EUR trading on the inter-bank foreign exchange market, the Bank will continue to perform its market-making obligations, and provide consistent bilateral EUR-RMB quotations on the inter-bank market to provide liquidity.

China-Europe trade has seen robust momentum in recent years. According to the data published on the website of the Ministry of Commerce, in the first half of 2014, bilateral trade between China and the EU amounted to USD291.44 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of about 12%.On September 16, ICBC Luxembourg Branch was authorized by PBOC to be the RMB clearing bank in the country. On September 30, ICBC successfully completed the first RMB-EUR transaction on China's inter-bank foreign exchange market. This will further enhance the Bank's service capability in RMB-EUR trading and promote trade and economic cooperation between China and Europe.