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(gè)海外人民幣交易中心邁出第一步，此舉標(biāo)志著人民幣的國(guó)際化進(jìn)入了一個(gè)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(guó)政府不久將指定一家中資銀行在新加坡進(jìn)行人民幣交易的清算，這將使新加坡各銀行能夠直接經(jīng)手人民幣，而無(wú)需經(jīng)由香港或中國(guó)內(nèi)地各商業(yè)銀行轉(zhuǎn)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(gè)重大進(jìn)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(guó)大陸的管道。新加坡將不再需要經(jīng)過(guò)香港了。”本周官方數(shù)據(jù)顯示，今年首季中國(guó)的國(guó)際貿(mào)易大約7%是用人民幣結(jié)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(guó)央行(PBOC)正致力于提升人民幣在全球貿(mào)易和投資中所扮演的角色，以改變中國(guó)幾乎完全依賴美元的局面。中國(guó)央行拒絕對(duì)上述新加坡計(jì)劃予以置評(píng)。

　　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(guó)央行不久將批準(zhǔn)中國(guó)內(nèi)地一家大銀行的新加坡分行處理清算業(yè)務(wù)。預(yù)計(jì)這家負(fù)責(zé)清算的銀行將是中國(guó)工商銀行(ICBC)和中國(guó)銀行(BOC)兩家中的一家。這兩家銀行在新加坡的經(jīng)營(yíng)規(guī)模是中資銀行中最大的。吳作棟沒(méi)有說(shuō)明該清算行具體將提供哪些服務(wù)。

　　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(guó)內(nèi)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(guó)央行指定由中行清算與內(nèi)地市場(chǎng)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(guò)貿(mào)易途徑流出中國(guó)內(nèi)地，香港各銀行吸收了其中大部分儲(chǔ)蓄，并利用這些資金推動(dòng)以人民幣計(jì)價(jià)的金融產(chǎn)品市場(chǎng)不斷增長(zhǎng)。

　　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(chǔ)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(wù)上的雄心，反映出這個(gè)城市國(guó)家在金融方面與香港的長(zhǎng)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(guó)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(guó)與東南亞的人民幣貿(mào)易創(chuàng)造條件。但吳作棟淡化了新加坡與自治的中國(guó)特別行政區(qū)香港一爭(zhēng)高下的前景。“我們沒(méi)有和香港競(jìng)爭(zhēng)的野心，”他表示。