No timetable for yuan's full convertibility

BEIJING - China's currency, or yuan, will see major progress in its full convertibility in the next five years, but no timetable has been set to achieve this goal, said Hu Xiaolian, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, the central bank, on Friday.

Yuan's full convertibility is decided by many conditions. The pilot program of allowing yuan in settling cross-border trade will promote its convertibility under the capital account, Hu told a news conference on the sidelines of the ongoing annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC), the nation's top legislature.

Although China has not loosened its control of the capital account, the demand for yuan is on the rise, as the currency is getting more and more popular in the cross-border transactions, Hu noted.

According to the government work report delivered by Premier Wen Jiabao at NPC's annual session, China will continue to increase the use of its currency renminbi in cross-border trade and investment this year.

The country will "press ahead with making the RMB convertible under capital accounts" this year, says the report.

The central bank said earlier this month that it will expand the yuan settlement trial program to the entire country this year from the current 20 provincial regions as there is growing market demand for the business.