China hopes to make the yuan one of the currencies in the IMF's basket of currencies. (Photo : Pixabay)
The People's Bank of China said that it has been transporting increasing quantities of renminbi (RMB) overseas in order to meet increasing demands for the currency, according to a report by China Daily.
The central bank transported 50 billion yuan ($7.9 billion) in cash to Hong Kong during the first nine months of 2015, increasing 46 percent year-on-year, according to a banking insider.
"From 2004 to 2007, we shipped less than 5 billion yuan cash to Hong Kong every year. We transported about 27 billion yuan cash annually since the demand for RMB cash surged in 2008," said Zhang Jianjun, director of the central bank's branch in Shenzhen, which conducts 83 percent of China's cross-border RMB transportation in China.
The central bank launched the RMB cash storage center in Hong Kong in 2007, managed by Bank of China. It provides cash and flow-back services for foreign markets.
Currently, there are 221 foreign banks in 19 countries across Asia, North America, Europe, Oceania and Africa that have opened cash accounts with RMB Clearing Banks in Hong Kong.
Since 2005, both Chinese citizens and foreigners have been allowed to bring 20,000 yuan or less per person when leaving or entering the country.
Chinese commercial banks in border areas normally cooperate with banks in neighboring countries for cash transportation. This is based on bilateral local currency settlement agreements for border trade.
China's central bank has also authorized cash transport to offshore RMB clearing banks in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
The amount of cross-border RMB cash transported by banks is steadily increasing, according to the central bank.
In 2014, RMB transported into China reached 39.9 billion yuan, while 11.7 billion yuan was transported out. A year later, the total amount transported rose by 23.2 percent.
