Myanmar will try renminbi as the official settlement currency



        Myanmar will try renminbi as the official settlement currency


  According to foreign media reports, on December 22, the Myanmar military announced that starting next year, the renminbi will be used as a settlement currency in cross-border trade with China, and that it is a “priority” to promote infrastructure projects in cooperation with China.


   The statement also stated that the pilot currency project will further promote bilateral cooperation between Myanmar and China and will "substantially improve border trade", especially in agricultural products.


   Prior to this, Myanmar has approved the legal exchange of U.S. dollars, euros, Singapore dollars, Thai baht and Malaysian ringgits within the country.


   The Central Bank of Myanmar announced in January 2019 that it would increase the RMB and Japanese Yen as official settlement currencies to promote the development of international payment and settlement and border trade.


   On October 12, 2021, the Central Bank of Myanmar issued a notice stating that banks holding foreign currency settlement licenses, banks holding foreign currency exchange licenses, and non-bank currency exchange institutions in Myanmar can exchange RMB with immediate effect. Relevant banks and non-bank currency exchange institutions can also exchange Japanese yen from today.


   On December 14, 2021, the Central Bank announced that it will now allow the use of RMB and Kyat to directly settle border trade in the border areas of China and Myanmar. It also stated that in order to promote border trade between China and Myanmar and promote the facilitation of bilateral currency transactions and settlements, Myanmar's eligible banks are allowed to open RMB accounts for importers and exporters engaged in border trade.


   China's first China-Myanmar border trade cross-border RMB settlement business was successfully piloted in Lincang, Yunnan


         OES learned that on the 20th of this month, the exporter Myanmar Cotton Manufacturing Company received the first advance payment of 60,000 yuan into its RMB account at the Muse Branch of the Myanmar Economic Bank, and recently completed the import and export trade process. , Lincang foreign trade enterprise Yunnan Longsheng Trading Company participated in China's first China-Myanmar border trade cross-border RMB settlement business pilot project declared a success.


         OES learned that after the signing of the "Agreement for the Payment of the Myanmar China Boarder Payment" ("Agreement for the Payment of the Myanmar China Boarder Payment"), Bank of China Lincang Branch handled the first advance payment for Yunnan Longsheng Trading Company as soon as possible. Out of formalities. The successful collaboration of this business signifies that the settlement channels for Sino-Myanmar border trade will be smoother, which will help border trade companies avoid exchange rate risks and reduce exchange losses. It also provides strong support for Lincang export companies to collect foreign exchange in a timely manner under the current special background.