Renminbi's growing global influence

During 2016, the internationalisation of the Chinese renminbi (RMB) appeared to stall in the wake of symptoms of capital flight, volatility in share markets and the overall and continuing slowdown in the Chinese economy. For example, in 2015, over 30 per cent of China’s foreign trade was settled in its own currency. In 2016 it had fallen to 20 per cent. The RMB had become the sixth-most used currency globally in 2015 but is presently the eighth. There has also been a decrease in RMB deposits in Hong Kong, a good indicator of the currency’s international profile. These are currently estimated at 3.3 trillion yuan against a peak of 4.6 trillion in 2015. Though formal regulations were not changed, Chinese