zeti akhtar aziz : renminbi and china ’ s global future keynote address by dr zeti akhtar aziz, governor of the central bank of malaysia ( bank negara malaysia ), at the hsbc reminbi forum “ renminbi and china ’ s global future ”, kuala lumpur, 17 august 2015. * * * the increasing role of the renminbi in the global financial system from a trade currency to an investment currency and now its potential role as a global reserve currency will have significant global implications. i am delighted to be here this morning to speak at this renminbi forum. the renminbi sphere has indeed extended beyond the asian region, extending to other continents, to europe, latin america and the middle east. the renminbi is no longer an asian story, but it has now become a global story. it reflects china ’ s importance and influence in the changing contour of the global economic and financial landscape, and the steps that have been taken to enhance its international role. my remarks today will focus on the increasing trend of the internationalisation of the renminbi despite the recent challenges faced in the chinese economy ; the implications of this trend to the region and finally on the steps that malaysia has taken as the region transitions into this environment. long - term prospects for the chinese economy and the renminbi after decades of rapid growth, the chinese economy is now transitioning to a growth path that is more sustainable. it is important to recognise that the moderation in the chinese economy has been in part, policy - driven, through conscious reforms to restructure the economy to become more balanced and domestic demand - centric. these economic reforms have been accompanied by financial and exchange rate reforms, geared towards modernising the economy and financial system that is increasingly more integrated with the global economy. these reforms are mutually reinforcing as the transformation of the structure of the chinese economy is necessary to support its integration with the world economy and the international financial system. the commitment to these reforms is crucial in securing the long - term growth prospects for china, even as the chinese economy faces short - term challenges in the recent period. the recent one - off adjustment of the renminbi reflects a conscious effort by china to align the renminbi to a market - driven mechanism as a part of a crucial reform to allow the renminbi to reflect financial market developments and economic fundamentals. in an environment of continued weakness in global trade, these short -

debt securities market in southeast asia and as a leading centre for sukuk issuance. as an early pioneer of renminbi initiatives, bank negara malaysia ( bnm ) was the first asean central bank to sign a currency swap agreement with the people ’ s bank of china ( pbc ) in february 2009. in the same year, bnm was also the first asian central bank to become a qfii investor and among the first wave of foreign investors in cibm. in 2010, the malaysian ringgit became the first emerging currency to be directly traded with the renminbi in the china foreign exchange trading system ( cfets ). in 2013, bnm signed a crossborder collateral arrangement ( cbca ) with pbc to enable the use of home currency collateral to obtain domestic liquidity in the host country. in november 2014, bnm signed an mou on a renminbi clearing bank arrangement. the bank of china malaysia was appointed as the renminbi clearing bank in january 2015. going forward, bnm will work towards further enhancing financial co - operation with pbc in the area of renminbi qualified foreign institutional investor ( rqfii ) to provide an alternative avenue for malaysian investors to invest in onshore chinese financial markets. bnm has also worked to integrate the renminbi into the domestic financial system by incorporating the renminbi in malaysia ’ s real time gross settlement system ( rentas ). in november 2013, bnm introduced the renminbi liquidity facility ( rlf ) to licensed onshore banks to facilitate more effective renminbi liquidity management in malaysia. today, the usage of renminbi in malaysia has grown rapidly, with the daily size of renminbi foreign exchange volume at rmb6. 7 billion. malaysian institutions and corporations such as khazanah, cagamas, axiata and maybank have issued renminbi bonds. with the various renminbi financial infrastructure that has been put in place to support trade, investment and bis central bankers ’ speeches financial flows between malaysia and china, this trend is expected to increase. malaysian entities with large regional network should consider using malaysia as the centre for their regional renminbi transactions and thus contribute towards greater economies of scale over time. this would in turn enable the transactions to be conducted in the most efficient and cost effective way. conclusion let me conclude my remarks. in a short time span of six years since 2009, the renminbi has accomplished