Overseas banks to deal in renminbi

Foreign lenders will only have to wait a few more weeks before China issues a rule allowing overseas banks to deal in renminbi business across the country, a source at the nation's banking regulator revealed last week.

The rule will be submitted to the State Council for further approval and is likely to come out one month before the country fully opens its banking sector on December 11, in line with China's commitments to the World Trade Organization.

Meanwhile, six foreign banks have already started to turn their operating branches into locally registered corporations in order to better deal with renminbi business, according to the source at the China Banking Regulatory Commission.

Trade surplus rises

China posted a trade surplus of US$15.3 billion in September, rising from US$7.57 billion a year earlier, the customs administration said last week.

September exports rose 30.6 per cent from a year earlier to US$91.6 billion, while imports rose 22.0 per cent to US$76.3 billion, according to figures published on the agency's Website.

For the first nine months of 2006, the trade surplus came to US$109.85 billion, greater than the surplus for all of 2005.

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