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It's Time to Look Hard at Whether to Use RMB

Companies headquartered outside of China can reap big benefits by settling transactions in renminbi. And moving to RMB now may help secure an early-mover advantage.

By Drew Douglas | Updated on July 22, 2015
Companies that do business in China, or compete for a share of the Chinese market’s growth, should seriously consider making the renminbi (RMB) an integral part of their cash management strategy. Use of RMB to settle transactions can not only improve a company’s leverage on prices with customers and suppliers, but can also reduce financial risks the company faces, improve the effectiveness of corporate investments, and deepen business relationships.

If these sound like bold claims, consider how far China has opened itself to the world in a short time. The nation’s rapid trade growth has been pulled forward by the twin locomotives of extraordinary domestic growth in China and increasingly transnational industrial assembly lines. Although the nation’s GDP growth forecast this year is the lowest in 11 years, China continues to grow much faster than many other economies.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government has been loosening controls on the renminbi to establish it as a global trade currency, an investment currency, and a reserve currency. In 2014, about 22 percent of China’s trade was settled in renminbi. HSBC expects that share to rise to more than 30 percent this year, and to 50 percent by 2020, as companies become increasingly aware of the potential benefits of invoicing and settling in the Chinese currency.

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