Hong Kong has rebounded from the 2008 financial crisis by transforming into a hub for yuan transactions. The number of Hong Kong financial companies dealing in yuan has quadrupled since 2008, and yuan deposits have increased tenfold. This is partly due to cooperation between Beijing and Hong Kong to support the yuan market. However, Hong Kong faces increased competition from other Asian cities for yuan business, and skepticism remains about the Chinese currency's strength.

1. Hong Kong Gets 2nd Wind
from Yuan Transactions
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2013/01/11/2013011101174.html

2. The International Commerce Centre soars 118 stories into the sky atop a
landfill in western Kowloon. Each day, hundreds of investment bankers in suits
and ties stream into the skyscraper. A total of 54 companies have moved into
the 10th to 99th floors of the ICC and employ 5,000 workers.
Between floors 102 to 118 sits the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, and including guests,
workers and visitors to the hotel, at least 50,000 people enter the ICC every
day.
The building, completed in March 2010, dwarfed the previous tallest building in
Hong Kong, the 88-story International Finance Centre 2. That year alone, it
attracted Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley among other
investment banks from around the world, achieving an impressive 95 percent
occupancy.
"Between 60 and 70 percent of all real estate investment from mainland China
into Hong Kong is focused on the area around the ICC," said John Siu at
Cushman and Wakefield.

3. Hong Kong reeled from the
impact of the 2008 global
financial crisis, which led
to massive layoffs and
created idle office space
across the island. But it
has been able to stage a
magnificent comeback by
transforming itself into a
hub of yuan transactions.
"The U.S. and European
economies are experiencing
a slump, but dynamic
trade financing in Asia
centered on the yuan is
rescuing Hong Kong’s
economy," said Mushtaq
Kapasi at UBS.

4. The number of Hong Kong-based financial companies that deal in yuan
more than quadrupled from 39 in late 2008 to 187 at the end of 2012. The
total amount of yuan-denominated deposits that entered Hong Kong
increased 10 times from 62.7 billion yuan in late 2009 and June of 2012,
according to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.
The island's transformation is the result of cooperation between Beijing
and Hong Kong. Chinese President Hu Jintao, who visited Hong Kong in
July last year to mark the 15th anniversary of the handover from the
U.K., allocated half of his 30 economic support measures for Hong Kong
to bolstering the financial market and the island's status as the prime
offshore financing hub for the yuan.
Hong Kong already wields formidable power in yuan-based transactions
and investment. In 2011, it accounted for 92 percent of China's total trade
transactions (2.8 trillion yuan) and that rose even further to 97 percent in
the first half of 2012.

5. The Chinese government and state-run banks are no longer the only
entities issuing "dim sum" or yuan-denominated bonds in Hong Kong.
Foreign banks and private businesses are also issuing yuan-denominated
bonds to raise capital, including McDonald's, Volvo, Tesco and HSBC.
Japanese businesses issued a total of 3.4 billion yuan worth of dim sum
bonds in the first eight months of 2012, a threefold increase compared to
the same period in 2011.
Thirteen percent of Hong Kong's population, or close to a million people,
work for the financial industry. By 2015, Hong Kong is forecast to
overtake London as the world's No. 1 in terms of the total number of
people working for the financial sector, according to the Centre for
Economics and Business Research.
Financial industry insiders say Hong Kong is unsinkable because the
island has a business-friendly system optimized for the financial sector. A
stable currency pegged to the U.S. dollar, a relatively open foreign
exchange market, a flexible labor force and little red tape give the island a
competitive edge.

6. But hot on the heels of Hong Kong are Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai and
Singapore. Also, Beijing recently granted authority to Singapore and
Taiwan to settle yuan accounts, so Hong Kong is facing increased
competition.
And many around the world are still skeptical about the power of the
Chinese currency. The yuan has traded around 30 percent lower than the
dollar since 2005, but the speed of strengthening has slowed. Some say
that if the yuan weakens, Hong Kong's financial industry could also run
out of steam and the island could end up a shopping and tourism town like
Macau.

7. But hot on the heels of Hong Kong are Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai and
Singapore. Also, Beijing recently granted authority to Singapore and
Taiwan to settle yuan accounts, so Hong Kong is facing increased
competition.
And many around the world are still skeptical about the power of the
Chinese currency. The yuan has traded around 30 percent lower than the
dollar since 2005, but the speed of strengthening has slowed. Some say
that if the yuan weakens, Hong Kong's financial industry could also run
out of steam and the island could end up a shopping and tourism town like
Macau.