Singapore has made a bid to become the first overseas hub for trading renminbi, marking a new stage in the internationalisation of the Chinese currency.

　　新加坡已向成为首个海外人民币交易中心迈出第一步，此举标志着人民币的国际化进入了一个新阶段。

　　The Monetary Authority of Singapore said on Tuesday that Beijing would soon appoint a Chinese bank to clear renminbi trades in the city state, giving Singaporean banks direct access to renminbi rather than having to route transactions via Hong Kong or commercial banks in China.

　　新加坡金融管理局(MAS)周二表示，中国政府不久将指定一家中资银行在新加坡进行人民币交易的清算，这将使新加坡各银行能够直接经手人民币，而无需经由香港或中国内地各商业银行转手。

　　"It’s a huge development,” said Mirza Baig, a Singapore-based currency strategist for Deutsche Bank. “Think of a clearing bank as a pipeline that flows between Singapore and mainland China. Singapore won’t need to go through Hong Kong any more.” About 7 per cent of China’s international trade was settled in renminbi in the first quarter of this year, official data showed this week.

　　 “这是一个重大进展，”德意志银行(Deutsche Bank)常驻新加坡的货币策略师米尔萨?贝格(Mirza Baig)表示。“可以把一家清算银行想象为一条接通新加坡和中国大陆的管道。新加坡将不再需要经过香港了。”本周官方数据显示，今年首季中国的国际贸易大约7%是用人民币结算的。

　　The People’s Bank of China, which declined to comment on the Singapore plans, is pushing for a greater role for the renminbi in global trade and investment to reduce China’s almost total reliance on the US dollar.

　　中国央行(PBOC)正致力于提升人民币在全球贸易和投资中所扮演的角色，以改变中国几乎完全依赖美元的局面。中国央行拒绝对上述新加坡计划予以置评。

　　According to Goh Chok Tong, the former prime minister who chairs the board of the MAS, the PBoC will soon approve a Singapore branch of a major mainland bank to handle the clearing. The clearing bank is expected to be either Industrial and Commercial Bank of China or Bank of China, which have the largest Chinese banking operations in Singapore. Mr Goh did not say what services the clearing bank would provide.

　　据新加坡前总理、现任金管局主席吴作栋(Goh Chok Tong)介绍，中国央行不久将批准中国内地一家大银行的新加坡分行处理清算业务。预计这家负责清算的银行将是中国工商银行(ICBC)和中国银行(BOC)两家中的一家。这两家银行在新加坡的经营规模是中资银行中最大的。吴作栋没有说明该清算行具体将提供哪些服务。

　　The only place outside mainland China that currently has a renminbi clearing bank is Hong Kong, where Bank of China has been appointed by the PBOC to clear trades with the mainland market.

　　目前，中国内地以外地区唯一拥有人民币清算银行的地方是香港，在那里，中国央行指定由中行清算与内地市场的交易。

　　As renminbi has flowed out of mainland China through trade channels, Hong Kong banks have taken in the lion’s share of deposits and used them to fuel a growing market in renminbi- denominated financial products.

　　随着人民币通过贸易途径流出中国内地，香港各银行吸收了其中大部分储蓄，并利用这些资金推动以人民币计价的金融产品市场不断增长。

　　Renminbi deposits in Hong Kong surged to Rmb408bn ($62bn) in February – up more than eightfold from two years ago. Singapore’s renminbi ambitions reflects its long financial rivalry with Hong Kong.

　　2月，香港的人民币储蓄飙升至4080亿元人民币（合620亿美元），比两年前高出8倍以上。新加坡在人民币业务上的雄心，反映出这个城市国家在金融方面与香港的长期角力。

　　Hong Kong hosts more regional headquarters of international banks but has lost out to Singapore as a centre for commodities and currency trading. A designated bank clearing operation in Singapore would facilitate trade in the renminbi between China and south-east Asia. But Mr Goh played down Singapore’s prospects of rivalling Hong Kong–a self-governing Chinese territory – as the main international centre for renminbi-based financial activity. “We have no ambitions to try to rival Hong Kong,” he said.

　　香港拥有更多国际银行的区域总部，但在大宗商品和外汇交易方面逊于新加坡。在新加坡指定一家人民币清算银行，将为中国与东南亚的人民币贸易创造条件。但吴作栋淡化了新加坡与自治的中国特别行政区香港一争高下的前景。“我们没有和香港竞争的野心，”他表示。