Latest news with #People'sBankofChina


South China Morning Post
41 minutes ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China grants Hong Kong new yuan quota as Payment Connect kicks off for 315 million users
China's financial authorities have granted Hong Kong residents a new daily remittance quota for the yuan, as a cross-border electronic transactions service prepares to kick off, linking 315 million users between the city and the mainland. Starting from noon on Sunday, the 17 million registered users of Hong Kong's Faster Payment System (FPS) will be able to remit up to HK$10,000 (US$1,282) per day for each bank account to 298 million users on the mainland's Internet Banking Payment System (IBPS) via the Payment Connect. The scheme, supported by six banks each on the mainland and in Hong Kong, will let users transfer money across borders to pay for travel, meals, education, medical services, salaries and other daily activities, according to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). 'We will continue to explore other use cases,' said Nelson Chow, the HKMA's executive director for financial infrastructure, during a briefing on Friday. 'The infrastructure of cross-border payment is now up, like a highway for payments. We just need to continue to explore more use cases in future.' Eddie Yue Wai-man, the chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), during the launch of the Payment Connect scheme with the People's Bank of China in Shanghai on June 20, 2025. Photo: PBOC The scheme, in development since August last year by the HKMA and the People's Bank of China , will revolutionise cross-border remittances for individuals and businesses, while boosting Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre and a trading hub for offshore yuan, said the HKMA's chief executive Eddie Yue Wai-man. Mainland residents are still limited to US$50,000 in annual overseas remittances, while Hong Kong residents are subject to an 80,000 yuan (US$11,129) ceiling in daily transfers to accounts of the same name on the mainland. Using Payments Connect, transfers for medical bills, tuition fees or daily needs can be unlimited. Employers can also remit salaries across borders, subject to pre-approvals by banks, said Stephen Pang, the HKMA's senior manager for financial infrastructure development.


Fibre2Fashion
3 hours ago
- Business
- Fibre2Fashion
China shifts to short-term tools in monetary policy overhaul: Nomura
China is transitioning its monetary policy framework to resemble Western models, focusing on short-term policy rates and reducing reliance on medium-term lending tools. China is reshaping its monetary policy, shifting from the medium-term lending facility to short-term tools like the 7-day reverse repo rate. The PBoC is creating a narrower interest rate corridor and using DR001 as a key benchmark. However, policy transmission remains weak, and open market operations are still developing amid lingering challenges. The People's Bank of China (PBoC) has de-emphasised the one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF), instead elevating the seven-day open market operations (OMO) reverse repo rate as the primary policy rate, according to Nomura. To enhance clarity and improve rate transmission, the PBoC is establishing a narrower interest rate corridor with temporary overnight repo rates acting as the floor and reverse repo rates as the ceiling. The DR001 rate—overnight repo for depository institutions—has emerged as a key interbank benchmark. The shift comes amid growing limitations of the MLF, which has constrained bond market liquidity by tying up large volumes of Chinese government bonds (CGBs) at the central bank. In response, the PBoC resumed direct CGB trading and launched outright reverse repos to manage liquidity more efficiently. Despite this shift, challenges remain. The PBoC does not commit to unlimited lending at the corridor's ceiling. Transmission from policy and interbank rates to bank lending and deposit rates remains weak, with window guidance still critical. Open market operations are also in a formative stage, as shown by the suspension of CGB purchases shortly after resumption. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (HU)


Business Recorder
5 hours ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
China's yuan rises on stronger fixing, weaker dollar outlook
HONG KONG: China's yuan firmed against the US dollar on Friday as the central bank set the daily fixing stronger and as expectations of dollar weakness supported the currency. Prior to the market opening, the People's Bank of China set the midpoint rate at 7.1695 per dollar - its strongest since March 17 and 106 pips firmer than a Reuters' estimate. The PBOC has guided the yuan's daily fixings firmer in recent sessions — a move viewed as an effort to boost confidence in the currency amid an uneven Chinese economy and uncertainty over Sino-US trade talks. Meanwhile, China kept benchmark lending rates unchanged as expected on Friday, after Beijing rolled out sweeping monetary easing measures a month earlier to support the economy. By 0400 GMT, the yuan was 0.08% higher at 7.1811 to the dollar after trading in a range of 7.1756 to 7.1822. Its offshore counterpart traded at 7.1819 yuan per dollar, up about 0.06% in Asian trade. The sluggish dollar performance in June amid concerns over the ballooning US fiscal deficit and the durability of US assets due to the trade war, also helped the yuan. 'Emerging market currencies are marginally stronger versus the dollar month-to-date and have held onto their May gains', Goldman Sachs analysts said in a note. China's yuan hits one-week low on worries over Middle East conflict The bank expects some low yielding Asian currencies, including Chinese yuan, to continue to perform well versus the dollar. The yuan is up 0.3% against the dollar this month, and 1.7% this year. The PBOC governor vowed to promote further yuan internationalisation at the 2025 Lujiazui Forum earlier this week, also lifting sentiment. Separately, the Hong Kong dollar hit 7.85 per US dollar on Friday, touching the weak end of its trading band against the dollar for the first time since May 2023, according to LSEG data.


News18
8 hours ago
- Business
- News18
Stock Market Updates: GIFT Nifty Signals Negative Start; China Holds Lending Rates
Last Updated: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty are expected to be influenced today by a mix of global and domestic factors Sensex Today: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty are expected to be influenced today by a mix of global and domestic factors, including Japan's inflation data, China's loan prime rate decision, escalating tensions between Israel and Iran, India's forex reserves update, and institutional activity. As of 8:40 AM, GIFT Nifty futures were trading 25 points lower at 24,778.5, hinting at a weak start for domestic equities. Global Market Cues Asia-Pacific markets showed mixed trends on Friday as investors reacted to China's key lending rate announcements and tracked mounting geopolitical tension in the Middle East. The People's Bank of China (PBoC) held its one-year loan prime rate steady at 3.0% and the five-year rate at 3.5%, matching market expectations. Geopolitical risks remained elevated, with U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly weighing support for possible Israeli military action against Tehran. A decision from the White House is expected within two weeks. In Japan, the Nikkei was last up 0.27%, while the broader Topix index was flat. Core inflation in Japan rose to 3.7% in May — its highest since January 2023 — surpassing April's 3.5% reading and Reuters' forecast of 3.6%. Meanwhile, headline inflation slightly eased to 3.5% from 3.6% in the previous two months, marking its lowest level since November. Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea's Kospi slipped into the red after early gains, down 0.014%, while Australia's ASX 200 also reversed its opening strength, falling 0.37%. Meanwhile, the Bank of England, at its June policy meeting, voted 6-3 to hold the Bank Rate steady at 4.25%, as it continues to deal with sticky inflation and global macroeconomic uncertainty. First Published:


CNBC
11 hours ago
- Business
- CNBC
China expectedly keeps key lending rates steady after May cut
China expectedly kept its benchmark lending rates unchanged Friday, following the sweeping monetary easing measures rolled out last month to boost growth. The People's Bank of China held the 1-year loan prime rate at 3.0% and 5-year LPR at 3.5%, according to a statement Friday. Last month, Chinese authorities cut the lending rates for the first time since October by 10 basis points, in their bid to cushion the impact from trade tensions with Washington. A slew of commercial banks also trimmed their deposit rates to protect their net interest margin. LPR, normally charged to banks' best clients, is calculated based on a survey of dozens of designated commercial banks that submit proposed rates to the central bank. The 1-year LPR influences corporate and most household loans in China, while the 5-year LPR serves as a benchmark for mortgage rates.