With the further development of Renminbi internationalization, the expectation of domestic and foreign market entities to Renminbi international currency status has enhanced steadily, and so has the function of Renminbi as a global payment currency. Qatar, as one of the key nodes along the Belt and Road countries, is actively promoting the use of Renminbi locally. Bank of China Qatar Financial Centre Branch seizes the opportunity to "expand the international influence of Renminbi, strengthen the cultivation of Renminbi in local markets, and develop new Renminbi settlement channels." for the goal of Renminbi internationalization, and also injects new momentum and provides new choices in Qatar local market, which arouses new expectations at the same time.

New Momentum to Expand the International Influence of Renminbi

Since its establishment in 2016, Bank of China Qatar Financial Centre Branch has taken Renminbi internationalization as a key task to actively develop Renminbi market and popularize Renminbi knowledge. At the same time, multi-dimensional cooperation with Qatar Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance of Qatar has been strengthened to actively seek business breakthroughs and strive to achieve an organic combination with Renminbi and Qatari market. Recently, Qatar Central Bank held a round-table forum about Renminbi. Bank of China Qatar Financial Centre Branch received the invitation. At the same time, it introduced the related policies of Renminbi internationalization, Renminbi settlement products, service advantages of Bank of China and the idea of building a trading platform with the core of the Renminbi as new settlement channel and delivered suggestions of expanding the application of Renminbi in Qatari economy, trade and investment fields. Qatar Central Bank and Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority considered Bank of China's proposal to be instructive and constructive, which provided an important reference for Central Bank and Regulatory Authority to promote the use of Renminbi in Qatar. Participants also deeply discussed Central Bank's Renminbi strategy, propulsion schedule, the operation mode of Qatar's Renminbi clearing bank, and bilateral local currency swap agreements between the two countries.

New Choice for Strengthening the Cultivation of Renminbi in Local Market

The use of Renminbi should be the spontaneous behavior of the market and the voluntary choice of enterprises. Bank of China Qatar Financial Centre Branch has actively guided large-scale projects and key enterprises under the "Go-global" of the Belt and Road Initiative to use the Renminbi, then strengthen the cultivation of Renminbi in local market. A few days ago, Bank of China Qatar Financial Centre Branch, as the only Chinese bank invited, participated in the financial technology and Renminbi forum sponsored by the Qatar Financial Centre, attended by representatives of Qatar Investment Bureau, Qatar Insurance Company, and other important local institutions and enterprises. Qatar Financial Centre Branch emphasized the globalization and integration advantages of Bank of China, as well as its unique position in the field of Renminbi settlement, and expressed its willingness and determination to actively promote the use of Renminbi locally. Qatar Financial Centre Authority, the organizer, hoped Bank of China would continue to provide support and assistance in promoting the use of Renminbi in Qatar. Bank of China Qatar Financial Centre Branch is actively exploring new options which are independent of existing Renminbi clearing banks for local market players.

New Expectations Helping the Construction of New Settlement Channels for Renminbi

Recently, in the communication with Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority, Bank of China Qatar Financial Centre Branch introduced the advantages of Renminbi business and said it would invest more in promoting Renminbi internationalization in the future. Efforts would be made to act as the main channel for Renminbi cross-border services. It would build a trading platform with the core of Renminbi as new settlement channel to vigorously develop Renminbi market quotation and clearing and settlement services, inject new Renminbi liquidity into the local market and provide all-round Renminbi financial services to various market entities and customers. Regulators said they would actively support the business development of Renminbi internationalization in approving new businesses and products.

Looking forward to the future, Renminbi internationalization will be accelerated. With the development of China's economy and the deepening of financial market reform, local market participants would face more opportunities. Bank of China Qatar Financial Centre Branch would seize the favorable development opportunities and rely on the Group's global advantages to act as the main channel for Renminbi cross-border payment and settlement in Qatar, inject new momentum and provide new options for Qatar local market.