Monday was a momentous day for China’s currency—the yuan—when the first cross-border yuan trade settlement deal was completed.
It’s still a long way from that to seeing settlement in yuan being available for online business or for VIP casino gamblers to be able to take large amounts of yuan legally across the land border with Macau for settlement of their gambling tabs.
Nonetheless, the deal is symbolic of China’s very gradual movement toward being plugged in to the international financial system.
China’s State Council announced in April a pilot programme to allow exporters and importers in Shanghai, and those in southern Guangzhou in Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Dongguan—cities next door to Macau and Hong Kong—to settle cross-border trade deals in yuan.
Asian Gaming Intelligence welcomes the news. We wonder however how long it will be before someone tries to set up a shell company in Macau ostensibly for cross-border trade settlements with Guangzhou companies but in reality for funnelling large amounts of yuan to feed some high rollers’ casino playing habits. Or are we just being too cynical?