Singapore has made a bid to become the first overseas hub for trading renminbi, marking a new stage in the internationalisation of the Chinese currency.

　　新加坡已向成為首個海外人民幣交易中心邁出第一步，此舉標志著人民幣的國際化進入了一個新階段。

　　The Monetary Authority of Singapore said on Tuesday that Beijing would soon appoint a Chinese bank to clear renminbi trades in the city state, giving Singaporean banks direct access to renminbi rather than having to route transactions via Hong Kong or commercial banks in China.

　　新加坡金融管理局(MAS)周二表示，中國政府不久將指定一家中資銀行在新加坡進行人民幣交易的清算，這將使新加坡各銀行能夠直接經手人民幣，而無需經由香港或中國內地各商業(yè)銀行轉手。

　　"It’s a huge development,” said Mirza Baig, a Singapore-based currency strategist for Deutsche Bank. “Think of a clearing bank as a pipeline that flows between Singapore and mainland China. Singapore won’t need to go through Hong Kong any more.” About 7 per cent of China’s international trade was settled in renminbi in the first quarter of this year, official data showed this week.

　　 “這是一個重大進展，”德意志銀行(Deutsche Bank)常駐新加坡的貨幣策略師米爾薩?貝格(Mirza Baig)表示。“可以把一家清算銀行想象為一條接通新加坡和中國大陸的管道。新加坡將不再需要經過香港了。”本周官方數(shù)據(jù)顯示，今年首季中國的國際貿易大約7%是用人民幣結算的。

　　The People’s Bank of China, which declined to comment on the Singapore plans, is pushing for a greater role for the renminbi in global trade and investment to reduce China’s almost total reliance on the US dollar.

　　中國央行(PBOC)正致力于提升人民幣在全球貿易和投資中所扮演的角色，以改變中國幾乎完全依賴美元的局面。中國央行拒絕對上述新加坡計劃予以置評。

　　According to Goh Chok Tong, the former prime minister who chairs the board of the MAS, the PBoC will soon approve a Singapore branch of a major mainland bank to handle the clearing. The clearing bank is expected to be either Industrial and Commercial Bank of China or Bank of China, which have the largest Chinese banking operations in Singapore. Mr Goh did not say what services the clearing bank would provide.

　　據(jù)新加坡前總理、現(xiàn)任金管局主席吳作棟(Goh Chok Tong)介紹，中國央行不久將批準中國內地一家大銀行的新加坡分行處理清算業(yè)務。預計這家負責清算的銀行將是中國工商銀行(ICBC)和中國銀行(BOC)兩家中的一家。這兩家銀行在新加坡的經營規(guī)模是中資銀行中最大的。吳作棟沒有說明該清算行具體將提供哪些服務。

　　The only place outside mainland China that currently has a renminbi clearing bank is Hong Kong, where Bank of China has been appointed by the PBOC to clear trades with the mainland market.

　　目前，中國內地以外地區(qū)唯一擁有人民幣清算銀行的地方是香港，在那里，中國央行指定由中行清算與內地市場的交易。

　　As renminbi has flowed out of mainland China through trade channels, Hong Kong banks have taken in the lion’s share of deposits and used them to fuel a growing market in renminbi- denominated financial products.

　　隨著人民幣通過貿易途徑流出中國內地，香港各銀行吸收了其中大部分儲蓄，并利用這些資金推動以人民幣計價的金融產品市場不斷增長。

　　Renminbi deposits in Hong Kong surged to Rmb408bn ($62bn) in February – up more than eightfold from two years ago. Singapore’s renminbi ambitions reflects its long financial rivalry with Hong Kong.

　　2月，香港的人民幣儲蓄飆升至4080億元人民幣（合620億美元），比兩年前高出8倍以上。新加坡在人民幣業(yè)務上的雄心，反映出這個城市國家在金融方面與香港的長期角力。

　　Hong Kong hosts more regional headquarters of international banks but has lost out to Singapore as a centre for commodities and currency trading. A designated bank clearing operation in Singapore would facilitate trade in the renminbi between China and south-east Asia. But Mr Goh played down Singapore’s prospects of rivalling Hong Kong–a self-governing Chinese territory – as the main international centre for renminbi-based financial activity. “We have no ambitions to try to rival Hong Kong,” he said.

　　香港擁有更多國際銀行的區(qū)域總部，但在大宗商品和外匯交易方面遜于新加坡。在新加坡指定一家人民幣清算銀行，將為中國與東南亞的人民幣貿易創(chuàng)造條件。但吳作棟淡化了新加坡與自治的中國特別行政區(qū)香港一爭高下的前景。“我們沒有和香港競爭的野心，”他表示。