SCB sets up cross-border yuan transfers for mainland's biggest BMW dealer

Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) said it has set up a two-way yuan cash pool for Baoxin Auto Group, the biggest BMW dealer in China's mainland, to assist the Hong Kong-listed company's cross-border fund transfers and trade settlement.

The structure for yuan-denominated cash transfers across borders is not limited by quotas, and is exempt from the central bank's approval, according to the bank's statement yesterday following the announcement of the latest rules simplifying such transactions by the People's Bank of China.

The new rules further support the development of cross-border yuan business, said Biswajyoti Upadhyay, head of global corporate and transaction banking at Standard Chartered China.

It's the first deal Standard Chartered did in the Shanghai pilot free trade zone, the bank said.

"The evolving regulatory framework around the internationalization of the yuan offers key opportunities for our clients to unlock efficiencies in working capital management. The FTZ is an important milestone in this evolution," said Sridhar Kanthadai, regional head of transaction banking for the bank in northeast Asia.

Standard Chartered China has supported 19 companies in yuan cross-border lending since the rollout of the service by PBOC, which has totaled 39 billion yuan (US$6.4 billion), according to the statement.