DBS appointed as Singapore's second renminbi clearing bank

SINGAPORE, Dec 15 (Reuters) - DBS Bank (DBSM.SI) was appointed as the second renminbi (RMB) clearing bank in Singapore, one of 27 agreements signed during an annual bilateral meeting held in southwest China’s Chongqing on Monday. The Singapore branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) was appointed as the first clearing bank for RMB in Singapore by the People’s Bank of China in 2013. The Monetary Authority of Singapore, the city state’s central bank, said in a statement on Monday that the appointment of DBS as an RMB clearing bank will “support further growth of the offshore RMB market in Singapore, and facilitate the use of RMB for trade, investment and other economic activities in line with regional needs”. DBS, Southeast Asia’s largest lender by assets, said that its appointment will allow it to deliver more comprehensive and competitive RMB solutions as clients seek to diversify their currency risks. In a separate agreement, the Singapore branches of ICBC and Bank of China will launch a pilot programme to allow travellers from Singapore to open and top up digital RMB wallets for merchant payments in China by year-end. Both countries also agreed to commence an “over-the-counter” bond market arrangement. “The arrangement enables designated banks in Singapore to provide institutional investors with access to selected fixed income products on the China Interbank Bond Market,” MAS said. A senior DBS executive said in August that the lender has observed growing interest from Chinese exporters to settle trades in RMB, particularly with counterparts in Latin America and the Middle East. The agreements come amid a greater push from China to promote cross-border RMB settlement and other financial services. In April, PBOC-controlled financial services firm China UnionPay strengthened its payment network in Vietnam and Cambodia, while the central bank announced steps to promote cross-border yuan settlement and other financial services.