London wishes to become yuan trading hub

HONG KONG -- London sees Hong Kong as a partner in terms of yuan offshore trading, the Lord Mayor of the City of London David Wootton said on Friday.

Wootton said at a news conference that in recent times, one of Hong Kong's biggest developments is its emergence as a pioneering hub for the yuan market. Hong Kong's development as a center for renminbi trade and investment has been phenomenal.

"Hong Kong is well pleased as a hub for yuan trading as the right infrastructure, the right currency and settlement and mechanisms," he said.

In April, London became a center for renminbi offshore trading. Wootton said, London wishes to be the western hub for renminbi trading. This is not a competition with Hong Kong. Although both cities are renminbi trading centers, he would like to see Hong Kong as a partner rather than a competitor.

Wootton considered the role of London as a complement to Hong Kong renminbi trading business, and the partnership between London and Hong Kong is of mutual benefit - if one does good, so will the other. He said discussions of the two cities also take the form of London-Hong Kong renminbi Forum.

"The next meeting of that forum is in London in December. There was a previous meeting in Hong Kong earlier this year."

Wootton paid a visit to Hong Kong on Sept 13-14 as part of his ten-day visit to China. His two-day visit in Hong Kong includes the meeting with Hong Kong's Chief Executive CY Leung, giving a speech at a renminbi seminar, attending a green financing seminar and so on.

Besides renminbi trading issue, Wootton said another specific topic to be discussed is green financing. The City of London is a leading global center in green economy such as carbon markets and emissions trading. London seeks to show to Hong Kong its skills to help Hong Kong and China develop its market for green financial products and services.

Wootton summed up his visit to Hong Kong this time as "take forward long-standing as well as new relationships between London and Hong Kong".

The City of London is the historical center of London. The area, covering only one square mile, is now the financial center of all of Europe, ranking on par with New York City as a leading center of global finance.