ZIMBABWE is lobbying to be included among African offshore clearing centres for the Chinese currency, the renminbi (RMB), as it seeks to grow trade between the two countries and boost confidence in the local banking sector, a top diplomat has said.

The RMB was added to the IMF’s basket of currencies two years ago, meaning it is now a reserve currency that can be used as a unit of exchange in international trade and international cross-border transactional settlements.

Presently, the UK is the world’s largest clearing centre for the RMB outside Greater China, followed by Singapore.

Zimbabwe hopes to reach an agreement with Beijing on the offshore centre during the 2018 Forum on China-Africa Co-operation that officially opens tomorrow. This year’s edition of the triennial summit will be co-chaired by host President Xi Jinping and South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to China Mr Paul Chikawa told state media last week that Harare was also pursuing opportunities in e-payments, telecommunications, infrastructure, and power transmission and distribution. Zimbabwe is also angling for a market for its agricultural produce.

Ambassador Chikawa said: “If all goes well, we will be so keen to be one of the centres in Africa, if not the leading centre, to have an offshore Renminbi Centre. You know, Hong Kong — which is part of China — is; Singapore is; London is. That means it is a reserve currency in its own right.

“So, if we are able to fashion out an agreement in the area of banking, and we are hopeful that our own (Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe) Governor (Dr John Mangudya) — though he is not part of Focac — could find space and time to come here.

“We are pursuing certain interests, very formative stages to introduce the e-payment system as a part of dealing with the liquidity situation and also growing with the times. This is part of the vision, part of the dream, but it’s a lot bigger.”

State Media