Media Release New Measures to Facilitate the Development of the Renminbi Market in Australia

Today, the Reserve Bank of Australia and the People's Bank of China signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish official renminbi (RMB) clearing arrangements in Australia. The clearing arrangements will provide a more direct means of facilitating cross-border RMB transactions between Australian and Chinese entities than was previously available.

The Chinese authorities have also announced today that Australia will be granted access to the RMB Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (RQFII) program, with an initial aggregate quota of RMB 50 billion. This will allow approved Australian-domiciled financial institutions to invest in China's domestic bond and equity markets using RMB.

These initiatives will serve to further support the economic and financial linkages between Australia and China by facilitating the use of RMB in cross-border trade and investment transactions. They also represent important steps in further strengthening bilateral financial cooperation between Australia and China.