China to regulate cross-border RMB settlement

BEIJING - China has issued a list of enterprises that will be put under strict supervision, in an effort to regulate the use of the yuan in cross-border settlement for goods trade, the central bank said Tuesday.

The list was jointly released by the People's Bank of China, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Commerce and other three regulators, according to a statement on the PBOC's website.

According to the statement, the regulators will step up management over the 9,502 enterprises that are on the list and adjust the list when necessary.

The statement said those enterprises are not allowed to deposit abroad the renminbi funds earned from the cross-border trade settlement.

The move came after the PBOC and other regulators in March issued a notice stating that all enterprises with exporting and importing qualifications are eligible to conduct cross-border good trade settlement in the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan.

As part of the country's efforts to push the internationalization of the yuan, the country set up a pilot program for cross-border renminbi trade settlement in July 2009.

By June 2010, more than 60,000 enterprises in 20 Chinese regions have joined the pilot program. By August 2011, cross-border renminbi trade settlement has been expanded across the nation.

PBOC data showed that China's cross-border renminbi settlement reached 216 billion yuan ($34.29 billion) in May.