The Federal Government has announced a new high-level dialogue between senior business leaders from Australia and Hong Kong on RMB trade and investment.

 

Treasurer Wayne Swan said the high-level dialogue will be private sector led, and described it as a crucial vehicle for deepening the valuable market and building deeper trade links between Australia and Hong Kong and will be facilitated by the Australian Treasury, the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

 

Mr Swan said the initiative will bring together senior banking and other business leaders from Australia and Hong Kong to maximise opportunities from the wider use of the RMB in trade and investment in the Asia Pacific region.

 

“This important initiative will foster closer collaboration between our two economies on the potential to broaden RMB trade settlement, particularly in Australia's key commodity exports.  It will also support the development of new RMB-denominated financing and investment products and closer RMB banking and financial links,” Mr Swan said in a statement.

 

The dialogue will commence in Sydney next year before continuing in Hong Kong in 2014.

 

“Today's announcement is another example of the strong relationship across our two economies and our commitment to make the most of the opportunities in our region in the coming Asian Century,” Mr Swan said.

 

It builds on substantial steps already taken to support internationalisation of the RMB, such as the announcement in March this year of a RMB 200 billion (AU$30 billion) bilateral currency swap between the Reserve Bank of Australia and the People's Bank of China.