environment that is prone to greater volatility and increased uncertainty, there will be a greater trend to diversify risks. this will also contribute to overall global stability in the international financial system. on our part, the bank is committed to collaborate with the chinese authorities to facilitate the use of renminbi that is anchored on real sector activities for the mutual benefit of our countries. today ’ s seminar will discuss the issues concerning the use of renminbi in trade and investment. on this note, i wish you all a productive and successful engagement. bis central bankers ’ speeches

entered into a currency swap arrangement ( csa ) agreement with the people ’ s bank of china, which was renewed early this year with an expanded amount of renminbi 180 billion. the objective is to ensure a ready supply of renminbi in the domestic financial markets to meet the demand by businesses. an important piece of the infrastructure that was put in place in 2010 was the provision of direct quotes between renminbi and ringgit in the interbank foreign exchange market on the china foreign exchange trade system ( cfets ). efforts were also made to enhance the transparency in the exchange rate between renminbi and ringgit for the trade - related settlement transactions. in march this year, the real time gross settlement system in malaysia was expanded to include settlement services in renminbi. this serves to provide a safe and efficient clearing and settlement platform that supports trade and investment flows in renminbi. a nationwide awareness program by the banking institutions and the business chambers is also creating greater awareness on renminbi for trade settlement and investment. the bank has also participated in the chinese interbank bond market. in 2011 alone, the size of renminbi trade settlement in malaysia expanded by four times from the level a year ago, reflecting a growing interest in renminbi as a settlement currency. the expansion in renminbi usage has also been underpinned by a diffusion of corporate players, both in size and across the sectors. not only has the number of corporate players increased, but there has been a shift in relative significance in the use of renminbi as a trade settlement currency from the smaller to the larger corporations. there has also been more widespread corporate participation from a larger cross - segment of economic activities, namely the commodity based industries, manufacturing and services sectors that also includes tourism and education. there has also been an increase in the number of financial institutions participating in renminbi trade settlements. there are now 19 financial institutions that facilitated such trade settlements, double the number in 2009. more recently, there has been an increase in the use of the renminbi as an investment and funding currency. in the first seven months of this year, renminbi deposits in the banking system had tripled. also evident is the growing interest in raising financing in renminbi to meet funding requirements, with two issuances of offshore renminbi sukuk out of malaysia and a renminbi bond issuance by malaysian corporations. the progress made thus far, while modest, has significant potential given