中國將在盧森堡和巴黎指定人民幣業務清算行

In its continued push to make the yuan a global currency, China's central bank said Sunday it plans to designate clearing banks for its currency in Paris and Luxembourg, as the two financial centers battle with London to become the leading European offshore yuan-trading city.

作爲繼續推動人民幣國際化努力的一部分，中國央行週日稱將在巴黎和盧森堡指定人民幣業務清算行。這兩個金融中心將與倫敦競爭歐洲主要離岸人民幣交易中心的地位。

The People's Bank of China announced the move in two separate statements Sunday. It didn't say when it would designate the clearing banks.

中國央行週日分別在兩份公告中宣佈了上述決定，不過並沒有表示何時將指定清算行。

The French and Luxembourg central banks said Sunday they had signed agreements with PBOC allowing for greater cooperation in the oversight of their domestic yuan market.

法國和盧森堡央行週日稱，他們與中國央行簽署了協議，將在監管兩國國內人民幣市場方面展開更多合作。

The weekend moves are the latest salvos in the race to win a major share of business in cross-border transactions in the Chinese currency. Singapore and Sydney are also vying for a significant share of the global yuan market, which is expected to expand rapidly along with China's fast-growing economy.

這是全球一些主要金融中心爲了在人民幣跨境交易中贏得主要份額而採取的最新舉措。新加坡和悉尼也希望在全球人民幣市場中爭奪相當一部分份額，這一市場預計將隨着中國快速增長的經濟一道迅速擴張。

On June 18, the PBOC appointed China Construction Bank Co., one of the country's top-four state-owned banks, to clear yuan-related transactions in London. It became the first yuan clearing bank in a European country.

6月18日，中國央行指定中國建設銀行(China Construction Bank Co.)爲倫敦的人民幣業務清算行。該行成爲首家位於歐洲國家的人民幣業務清算行。中國建設銀行是中國四大國有銀行之一。

Opening a clearing bank is a critical step in developing an offshore yuan-based business. The designated banks will be able to supply yuan liquidity in case of a shortage by directly accessing China's onshore currency market.

安排一家清算行是發展離岸人民幣業務的關鍵一步。當所在國發生人民幣短缺時，人民幣業務清算行在可以直接從中國國內人民幣市場來獲得人民幣資金。

The Chinese central bank said that setting up the clearing banks will benefit Chinese, French and Luxembourg 'businesses and financial institutions in using the renminbi [yuan] for cross-border transactions and in further promoting trade and investment.'

中國央行稱，人民幣清算安排的建立，將有利於中國、法國和盧森堡三國企業和金融機構使用人民幣進行跨境交易，進一步促進貿易、投資自由化和便利化。

French authorities have openly pushed for Paris to become a center for yuan transactions.

法國政府已公開爭取使巴黎成爲人民幣交易中心。

In March, China also granted 80 billion yuan ($12.9 billion) of quotas to French financial institutions that enable direct investment in the Chinese domestic financial market.

中國還在3月份分配給法國人民幣800億元（約合129億美元）人民幣合格境外機構投資者(RQFII)額度。

The Bank of France said Sunday the latest decisions by the PBOC 'confirm the prominent role of the French market place' in cross-border use of the currency.

法國央行週日表示，中國央行的最新決定確認了巴黎在人民幣跨境使用中的顯著地位。

Luxembourg, home to a powerful asset-management industry, has built strong ties with Chinese investors in recent years and currently hosts the European headquarters of China's three leading banks.

盧森堡擁有強大的資產管理行業。該國近年來與中國投資者建立了密切的聯繫，目前中國有三家大型銀行的歐洲總部都設在盧森堡。

Last year, former Luxembourg Finance Minister Luc Frieden cited figures showing that the country was the leading center for yuan business in the euro zone, with some 40 billion yuan in deposits, 62 billion yuan in loans from Luxembourg banks and 220 billion yuan under management in the fund industry.

盧森堡前財政大臣弗裏登(Luc Frieden)去年曾援引一些數字來說明盧森堡是歐元區主要的人民幣業務中心。盧森堡的人民幣存款爲約400億元，該國銀行業發放的人民幣貸款爲620億元，盧森堡基金行業管理的人民幣資產規模高達2,200億元。

For China, the move to allow the yuan to be used more freely abroad aims to boost demand for the currency and reduce the amount of dollars entering the country. China still maintains a tight grip on the yuan's value, with its trading strictly controlled in the mainland market.

對中國來說，推進人民幣國際化是爲了提高人民幣需求、減少美元入境規模。中國仍牢牢掌控着人民幣幣值，人民幣在境內市場的交易仍受到嚴格控制。

A surge in foreign-currency capital inflows in the past several years has contributed to a property bubble in China and excess liquidity in the country's financial system.

過去幾年外資大量流入成爲中國資產泡沫化的一個原因，同時也導致中國金融系統流動性過剩。

For the long term, China wants to turn the yuan into a global reserve currency that is used for investment, trade and loans, as are the dollar and euro. A widely accepted yuan could help Chinese companies alleviate foreign-exchange risks.

長期而言，中國希望人民幣像美元和歐元一樣，成爲可用於投資、貿易和信貸的全球儲備貨幣。人民幣被廣泛接受可幫助中資企業減輕匯兌風險。

In addition to designating a clearing back in London earlier this month, the PBOC also announced on June 18 that the yuan can now be exchanged directly for British pounds in Shanghai's foreign-exchange market. Previously, traders have had to exchange the currencies through the U.S. dollar, which added to transaction costs.

除了本月早些時候在倫敦指定清算行之外，中國央行還曾於6月18日宣佈，上海外匯市場啓動人民幣兌英鎊直接交易。之前人民幣與英鎊之間的兌換要先兌換成美元，增加了交易成本。

In 2013, yuan foreign-exchange trading in London reached $25.3 billion a day, up 50% compared with 2012, according to data released earlier this month.

根據本月早些時候發佈的數據，2013年倫敦人民幣外匯成交額達253億美元，較2012年增長50%。

China's currency has become increasingly popular in settling total trade. In the first three months, 18% of China's total trade, or 1.09 trillion yuan, was paid for in yuan, up from 14% in the fourth quarter of last year, according to Bank of China. That compares with just 1% of China's total cross-border trade five years ago.

人民幣在貿易結算中已獲得越來越廣泛的使用。根據中國銀行(Bank of China)的數據，今年前三個月中國貿易總額中的18%，即人民幣1.09萬億元是用人民幣支付的，比例高於去年第四季度的14%。而五年前，中國跨境貿易總額中只有1%是用人民幣支付的。