China Construction Bank and Euroclear sign MoU to foster offshore RMB growth

Euroclear Bank, the Brussels-based international central securities depository (ICSD), and China Construction Bank (CCB) have today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to further develop the offshore Renminbi (RMB) capital market. CCB Chairman Wang Hongzhang, Euroclear group Chairman Marc Antoine Autheman, and Euroclear Chief Technology and Services Officer Lieve Mostrey attended the signing ceremony, joined by the Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, Li Keqiang, and the Belgian Prime Minister, Charles Michel.

The MoU commits both parties to fully cooperate in developing and distributing offshore RMB financial products, as well as the provision of high quality services to offshore RMB market participants. CCB would through its subsidiary CCB International (Holdings) Limited (CCB International) work closely with Euroclear Bank in the further promotion of the international issuance structure for ETFs following the March launch in London of the first ever RMB-denominated money market ETF in international form.

“Euroclear has keenly supported the offshore RMB market’s rapid growth over the past few years, further promoting Belgium’s development as a financial centre.”

CCB’s Chairman, Wang Hongzhang stated: “We are delighted to be a partner in this forward-looking and mutually supportive initiative between CCB and Euroclear. The development of robust and reliable infrastructure to support RMB denominated financial instruments is key to achieving our ambitious goal of truly internationalising offshore RMB products. By leveraging Euroclear’s global network, CCB will help drive the development of offshore RMB markets and assume a leading role in the financial cooperation between China and Europe.”

“CCB is a leading commercial bank in China, providing a comprehensive range of commercial banking products and services.”

Marc Antoine Autheman, Chairman of the Euroclear group, commented: “Euroclear has keenly supported the offshore RMB market’s rapid growth over the past few years, further promoting Belgium’s development as a financial centre. Partnering with CCB enables us to provide our global client base enhanced access to the flourishing offshore RMB market. This milestone reflects Euroclear’s commitment to foster an open and connected marketplace, safeguarding both growth and stability in the world’s capital markets.”

CCB is a leading commercial bank in China, providing a comprehensive range of commercial banking products and services. Its business consists of three principal business segments: corporate banking, personal banking, and treasury operations. It is among the market leaders in China in a number of products and services, including infrastructure loans, residential mortgage and bank cards. At the end of May 2015, the market capitalization of the Bank reached US$ 251.4 billion, ranking it third among listed banks in the world.

Euroclear is one of the world’s largest providers of domestic and cross-border settlement and related services for bond, equity, ETF and mutual fund transactions. Euroclear is a proven, resilient capital market infrastructure committed to delivering risk-mitigation, automation and efficiency at scale for its global client franchise.

The Euroclear group includes Euroclear Bank – which is rated AA+ by Fitch Ratings and AA by Standard & Poor’s – as well as Euroclear Belgium, Euroclear Finland, Euroclear France, Euroclear Nederland, Euroclear Sweden and Euroclear UK & Ireland. The Euroclear group settled the equivalent of EUR 634 trillion in securities transactions in 2014, representing 182 million domestic and cross-border transactions, and held almost EUR 26 trillion in assets for clients.