A few days ago, Ren Zhigang, the former president of the Monetary Authority, accepted an interview with "Hong Kong 01" and talked about the status of Hong Kong in the internationalization of the RMB.
He mentioned that about 20 years ago, when he was still the president of the HKMA, he led a delegation to Beijing. Without the prophet to inform the delegation and colleagues of the HKMA, he made a breakthrough and proposed to develop RMB business in Hong Kong, and finally succeeded. Persuade the authorities and the central government to develop Hong Kong's RMB services.
Today, 20 years later, renminbi services have become one of the important cities of Hong Kong's financial services industry.
However, Ren Zhigang believes that the process of renminbi internationalization is still far away. When deepening the internationalization of the renminbi, Hong Kong should not focus on whether or not it can "make money", but should view it as a common strategy between the mainland and Hong Kong.
The internationalization of the RMB is not a "sweeping number"
Many people in Hong Kong used to hope that the Mainland's policies towards Hong Kong would have a "benefits" effect. For example, free travel was initially regarded as giving sugar.
Similarly, many people in the financial industry, as Ren Zhigang said, regard renminbi business as a tool to "snap money" to the mainland. They have become relatively uninterested in renminbi business with no short-term substantial benefits. Many people in the market have always compared the internationalization of the renminbi. Feeling cold, thinking that it cannot bring much "significance" to Hong Kong.
The economies of Hong Kong and the Mainland are in the same line. Especially under the rapid changes in the international environment in recent years, the expansion of RMB business has common interests for both Hong Kong and the Mainland. Hong Kong is not "made for the Mainland", nor should it be regarded as a "sweeping number". "Methods.
With the pandemic, the US dollar credit system, which had already been fully problematic due to the 2008 financial tsunami, has reappeared, and the international monetary system can no longer rely solely on the US dollar.
The latest official foreign exchange reserve data released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also shows that in the third quarter of 2021, the global central bank's dollar-denominated foreign exchange reserves fell to 59.15%, the lowest level since 1995. Although the renminbi is still only 2.66%, It has risen by 1.54 percentage points in the past four years.
All this confirms that the international monetary system needs to increase the support of the renminbi.
The position of the renminbi in the international monetary system is becoming more and more important.
The short-term collapse of the US dollar will have a great impact on the world economy, and both the mainland and Hong Kong will certainly suffer.
The internationalization of the renminbi will help stabilize the international currency system, weaken the dominance of the US dollar, and share risks at the same time, which is beneficial to Hong Kong itself.
RMB denominated stocks
During the interview, Ren Zhigang specifically pointed out that Hong Kong can be more committed to the development of RMB-denominated stock trading to help the internationalization of the RMB.
Hong Kong is an international financial market with a large amount of funds flowing in and out, which has also driven the Hong Kong stock market. If Hong Kong can have more stock orders with RMB as the trading unit, theoretically, it can further help the RMB and international funds transfer and facilitate the internationalization of the RMB .
Although Ren Zhigang envisioned the introduction of RMB-denominated stocks in the HSI constituent stocks as early as 2007, there are still only a few less important stocks listed in RMB with little influence.
One of the reasons for the underdevelopment of renminbi-denominated stocks may be that many people in Hong Kong worry that if they do so, it will weaken the status of the Hong Kong dollar, but Ren Zhigang thinks this is a good thing in the interview.
At present, international funds use Hong Kong dollars to purchase Chinese concept stocks listed in Hong Kong. In a disguised form, the Hong Kong dollar is used as a medium for connecting the mainland economy with international funds. However, the Hong Kong dollar is only an economic circle used by 7.5 million people. The status, on the contrary, increases the impact of the Hong Kong dollar on international risks, which is not necessarily a good thing.
It can also be seen that many people in Hong Kong have too narrow a view of the renminbi, for example, they are worried that the status of the Hong Kong dollar will not be guaranteed.
At present, the Hong Kong dollar is linked to the US dollar, regardless of whether the link is good or bad. However, the Hong Kong dollar has no monetary sovereignty at all. The influence of the Hong Kong dollar actually reflects only the "U.S. dollar influence". To put it bluntly, "there is no Hong Kong dollar" itself. Too much difference.
In addition to maintaining the status of the Hong Kong dollar to maintain the influence of the U.S. dollar, we must also consider the risks that the U.S. dollar may bring to the Hong Kong dollar.
Allowing the trading of Hong Kong stocks is beneficial to the internationalization of the renminbi, the dollar hegemony will be embraced by the renminbi in the next 50 years?
Central intervention influences speculation on the prospect of the renminbi depends on the dollar. The digital renminbi is bound to cause anxiety in the United States