The Middle East's first hub for clearing transactions in the Chinese yuan is set to open in Doha, Qatar next month.

Speaking at the annual MEED Qatar Projects Conference, Sheikh Abdullah Saoud Al-Thani, governor of Qatar Central Bank, said the move is part of a programme of initiatives involving China that include action to support Qatari conventional and Islamic banks to increase their participation in the Chinese economy.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's Doha branch was appointed as the clearing bank for yuan deals in an agreement signed in November.

The Qatar Central Bank said the appointment of the Renminbi clearing bank will increase the ties between China and Qatar and position Qatar as the regional centre for Renimbi clearing and settlement.

Qatar is the biggest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to China, with bilateral trade with China having risen to QR 41.9 billion ($11.5 billion) in 2013.

Qatar has signed a 35 billion yuan ($5.7 billion) currency swap deal with China, said Al-Thani.

The deal will allow the central bank to swap currencies if needed to ease trade and investment, and could be used to diversify the Gulf central banks' foreign reserves, he added. - TradeArabia News Service