Gov on use of rmb to settle gov expenditures

The city's inaugural Five-Year Plan has proposed that the government will take the lead in exploring and promoting the use of renminbi to settle government expenditures under suitable scenarios.

Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui says the move could help reduce the need to manage foreign-exchange issues.

Hui says such yuan-based transactions already exist but the volume is relatively small.

He says the government had already been taking in renminbi via various channels, including the issuance of yuan-denominated bonds so having the inflows and outflows matched in renminbi would be a "logical" and "natural" progression.