UAE and Qatar are the most active Middle East countries using the RMB Tracker for direct payments with mainland China and Hong Kong, according to recent Swift data.

 

Last year, the UAE's use of the RMB accounted for 74 per cent of payments by value to mainland China and Hong Kong, an increase of 52 per cent compared to 2014, said a statement.

 

In Qatar, the RMB was used for 60 per cent of all payments, a huge rise of 247 per cent compared to 2014, it said.

 

However, looking at all cross-border flows worldwide, Swift data revealed that the majority of payments between these Gulf states and mainland China/Hong Kong are in US dollars (USD) and subsequently intermediated, mainly by USD clearing banks. 

 

Sido Bestani, head of Middle East, Turkey and Africa, Swift, said: "Use of the RMB has been rising across the Middle East region over the last few years. Adoption has been supported by developments such as the establishment of an RMB clearing centre in Qatar last year - the first in the Middle East - and the recent memorandum of co-operation signed between the People's Bank of China and the Central Bank of the UAE to set up RMB clearing arrangements in the UAE.

 

"We anticipate these and similar efforts will continue to drive RMB adoption across the region." 

 

In December last year, the RMB remained stable in its position as the fifth most active currency for global payments by value and accounted for 2.31 per cent of global payments, with an increased market share compared to 2.28 per cent in November last year, said the statement.

 

"Overall, RMB payments value increased by 15.92 per cent compared to November 2015, while in general all payments currencies increased by 14.43 per cent." - TradeArabia News Service