Chances of setting up yuan center in Africa 'high'

The chances of establishing an offshore yuan center in Africa are high, as trade settlement in the currency continues to surge and sound regional trade on the continent facilitates forming a yuan pool, a senior executive of Standard Chartered Bank said on Tuesday.

Peter Sun, the bank's managing director for transaction banking, Africa, said the main challenge is that all African countries, except for Mauritius, Kenya and Botswana, have currency controls, which restrict the possibility of setting up an offshore renminbi center.

He told China Daily that Mauritius, with a free flow of dollars and trading with other African countries, is becoming a new regional treasury center, as many companies in Africa are moving there from the traditionally favorite centers of London and Dubai.