Chinese RMB (Yuan)

The People’s Bank of China has recently extended the coverage of cities and provinces. Now the scheme covers 20 cities and provinces including Shanghai, Guangdong, Beijing, Tianjin, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Shandong, Hubei, Guangxi, Hainan, Chongqing, Sichuan, Yunnan, Xizang, and Xinjiang.

Yes. Originally, only Mainland Designated Enterprises (MDE's)¹ were eligible to conduct cross-border RMB trade settlements. The recent notice by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) now allows non-MDE’s to conduct cross-border trade settlement in RMB as well. For imports to China, where enterprises in mainland China will make the payment, both MDE’s and non-MDE’s are allowed. For export from China, only MDE’s are allowed and case by case approval by local PBOC is required for non-MDE’s. With the expansion of the scheme to cover more cities and provinces, the list of MDE’s will be expanded.

Due to restrictions imposed by PBOC, at this stage only overseas companies (including Armenian) are allowed to conduct cross-boarder RMB trade settlements. The service is not available to individuals.

Armenian companies need to check with their business partners in mainland China if they are eligible to pay or receive RMB for their trade settlements.

All Armenian companies conducting import and export trading business with eligible enterprises in mainland China can settle their trade in RMB.
RMB funds received by Armenian companies may be converted into other foreign currencies or used to settle other trade transactions.

RMB cross-border payment (China with other countries) is allowed for settlement of trade transactions for goods or services and payment under other current items. Payment under capital items should seek case-by-case approval from the relevant authorities in advance. RMB transactions that do not involve China are not regulated by the People’s Bank of China but are subject to the regulations of the countries/areas of the remitter or beneficiary location. RMB clearing can still be done through the nostro accounts with Chinese banks, e.g. HSBC China.

There are no restrictions on the maximum amount in each RMB denominated remittance. However the remittance transaction must match with the actual trade (goods and service trade) and up to the actual trade amount.

Same as for other international settlement currencies, all common trade settlement methods apply for RMB, such as documentary credit (DC), documentary collections (D/P and D/A) and open account.