Bank of China released the Off-shore RMB Index (ORI) for the second quarter of 2024 on Oct 30, 2024.
The results showed that at the end of the second quarter of 2024, the ORI stood at 2.10 percent, a 0.03 percentage point increase from the end of the previous quarter and 0.02 percentage point above the expected value.
In the second quarter of 2024, the scale of the off-shore RMB market continued to expand, with the balance of overseas RMB deposits growing, the scale of financing and utilization increasing, and the ORI maintaining its upward trend. Its development showed the following features:
The improvement of the Cross-border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) and the local currency cooperation contributed to the expansion of the off-shore RMB market. As of end-June, the CIPS had 1,544 participants, forming a global RMB cross-border clearing network. Concurrently, the People's Bank of China signed local currency swap agreements with more than 40 foreign central banks, enhancing the RMB settlements and usage, supporting the growth of the off-shore RMB market.
The scale of RMB investment and financing in off-shore markets continued to grow. In the second quarter of 2024, the balance of RMB loans in major off-shore markets saw further quarter-on-quarter growth. The cross-border RMB bond investment and financing continued to expand, with the balance of off-shore RMB bonds increasing by 6.7 percent quarter-on-quarter. The balance of Panda Bonds under the custody of the Shanghai Clearing House grew by 1.3 percent quarter-on-quarter, while the balance of onshore RMB bonds held by overseas institutions increased by 17.9 percent quarter-on-quarter.
The enhanced connectivity of financial markets supported the expansion of the off-shore RMB market. Swap Connect was officially launched in May 2023. Twenty onshore dealers and 58 off-shore investors participated in RMB interest rate swap transactions as of May 2025, with a cumulative total of over 3,600 trades and a total notional principal of about 1.77 trillion yuan ($250.28 billion). The average daily turnover of notional principal increased from 3 billion yuan in the first month of its launch to 7.6 billion yuan in May.
Comprehensive Operating Companies
