Member News
BOC working to boost global power of renminbi
According
to the latest semi-annual report released by Bank of China on Friday, the group
achieved an operating income of 329.4 billion yuan ($46.2 billion),
representing a year-on-year increase of 3.61 percent. Net fee income grew by
9.17 percent year-on-year, while after-tax profit reached 126.1 billion yuan.
After-tax profit attributable to the bank's shareholders amounted to 117.6
billion yuan.
The
bank's assets and liabilities showed steady growth. Total assets reached 36.79
trillion yuan, an increase of 4.93 percent compared to the end of the previous
year. The proportion of high-yield assets, such as loans and bond investments,
increased by 2.32 percentage points. Total liabilities amounted to 33.66
trillion yuan, up 4.85 percent from the end of the previous year. The data
released also indicate an improvement in the competitiveness of average daily
renminbi deposits in the domestic market.
The
internationalization of the RMB, as a key part of the opening-up of China's
financial industry, can also benefit the nation's dual-cycle development
pattern, which takes the domestic market as the mainstay while allowing
domestic and international markets to reinforce each other. As a Chinese
commercial bank with a high degree of globalization, BOC, leveraging its
century of cross-border financial experience and comprehensive cross-border RMB
clearing network, said it will continue to contribute to RMB internationalization
and serve China's diplomacy, economy and trade.
Cross-border
network
Since
establishing its first overseas institution, the London Office, in 1929, BOC
has been developing globally. Currently, the bank's overseas institutions cover
64 countries and regions across six continents, including 45 countries involved
in the Belt and Road Initiative. Leveraging its service outlets in key global
regions, BOC bridges cross-border exchanges and economic cooperation.
RMB
clearing banks are a significant institutional arrangement to assist the
international use of the RMB. Since being appointed as the world's first RMB
clearing bank in 2003, BOC has been developing cross-border RMB clearing
channels to expand use of the RMB in foreign trade and investment. Currently,
the People's Bank of China — the
nation's central bank — has
authorized 34 RMB clearing banks in 32 countries and regions. BOC operates 16
of these, including all three clearing banks in Africa.
As
the internationalization of the RMB accelerates, the demand for its
cross-border payment and settlement continues to grow. The Cross-Border
Interbank Payment System, as a critical financial infrastructure, is gradually
becoming the main channel.
BOC
is involved in the construction of the CIPS system. As of 2024, 44 BOC
institutions have joined the CIPS as direct participants, while also acting as
agents for nearly 700 banking financial institutions worldwide.
Currently,
more than 70 percent of global offshore RMB payments are settled in Hong Kong,
with the majority processed through the Real Time Gross Settlement in Hong
Kong. As Hong Kong's sole RMB business clearing bank and the settlement
institution for this system, BOC keeps on promoting such advantages in RMB
settlement and clearing. In 2024, BOC's RMB settlement volume in Hong Kong
increased by 5.3 times year-on-year.
By
strengthening the regional headquarters functions of BOC (Hong Kong), BOC has
enhanced its operations in Southeast Asian countries. To date, BOC serves as
the RMB clearing bank for Malaysia, the Philippines and Cambodia, while its
Vientiane branch has been approved by the Lao central bank to become the first
digital RMB clearing bank. Additionally, as a key partner of the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region government, BOC is a major force in promoting the
development of Hong Kong's real economy.
Data
show that in 2024, BOC handled a total of 1,313.83 trillion yuan in
cross-border RMB clearing business, a year-on-year increase of 40 percent. BOC
has been repeatedly awarded the "Best RMB Clearing Bank in the
Asia-Pacific Region" by The Asian Banker magazine.
Offshore
RMB market
The
offshore RMB market is a key part of RMB internationalization. BOC promotes the
use of RMB for commodity settlement, supports foreign trade enterprises in
expanding the cross-border use of the RMB, enhances the RMB's function as an
investment and financing currency and expands cross-border RMB application
scenarios.
As
the world's third-largest copper-producing region, the copper belt spanning the
Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia has become a gathering place for
projects involved in the BRI. To aid exchanges in the region, BOC opened RMB
accounts for enterprises there and reviewed processes such as customs
clearance, tax reporting and international payments to address practical issues
encountered in RMB-denominated settlement.
This
aided the enterprises' RMB-denominated copper product sales transactions with
Chinese importers. After receiving the RMB payment, the enterprises can use
part of the funds through the BOC Zambia branch to procure equipment from
China. This has effectively helped the cyclic use of RMB involving settlement,
utilization and repatriation.
In
Malaysia, BOC adheres to achieving cross-border financial connectivity through
the integration of technology, demand and application scenarios. In September
2024, BOC provided a clearing solution for Central Bank of Malaysia, the Bank
Negara Malaysia, which has assisted the collaboration between PayNet (a
clearing institution run by the Bank Negara Malaysia) and WeChat QR code
payments. After that, BOC was appointed as the sole cross-border settlement
bank in Malaysia. By the end of March, the average daily transaction volume had
reached 12,600, representing a 5.97-fold increase since its launch.
In
supporting the BRI, BOC promotes the use of RMB in financing large-scale
infrastructure projects and bilateral trade, providing RMB financing support
for numerous landmark cooperative projects. Meanwhile, the bank advocates for
RMB-denominated pricing and settlement in commodity trading, achieving
breakthroughs in transactions involving iron ore, pulp and other bulk
commodities.
E-CNY
business
Currently,
the e-CNY, or digital yuan, is attracting global attention. Unrestricted by
geographical limitations, it holds distinct advantages in the field of
cross-border payments.
Since
late 2017, BOC has been involved in the research and development of the e-CNY,
with various business indicators ranked among the leading level in the industry.
In 2020, assigned by the People's Bank of China and the Hong Kong Monetary
Authority, BOC took the lead in launching e-CNY initiatives in Hong Kong.
Currently, more than 1,000 retail outlets accept e-CNY payments.
Initiatives
like mBridge — a
cross-border payment project involving the Chinese mainland, the Hong Kong SAR,
Thailand and the United Arab Emirates — are testing the e-CNY for international trade. BOC
has participated in the mBridge project since 2022. At present, BOC's head
office in Beijing, all domestic branches, BOC (Hong Kong), its subsidiary in
Thailand and the Abu Dhabi branch are involved in the project. Since the
project's inception, BOC has led in various dimensions such as transaction
volume and value, and has provided liquidity support for multiple participating
banks within the mBridge system.
"Taking
the mBridge as an example, the introduction of central bank digital currency
for clearing has streamlined cross-border remittance paths, reduced processing
time and costs associated with intermediary banks and lowered clearing risks,
thereby enhancing the efficiency of cross-border RMB payments," said a BOC
representative.
"From
our practice, digital currency has become a hot spot in cooperation between
China and other countries, creating new opportunities for RMB
internationalization," said a BOC manager.
RMB
internationalization is a long-term and complex process, presenting both new
challenges and rare development opportunities. As a pioneer in the global
expansion of Chinese finance, BOC said it will consolidate the group's global
resources, and give full play to its globalization advantages and its role as
the main channel for cross-border RMB business expansion, in a bid to promote
the development of the offshore RMB market and support the dual-cycle
development pattern.