Paris EUROPLACE welcomes the first CNH bond issued by a Chinese bank in Paris to support French and Eurozone companies active in China

The Paris-listed bond issue was conducted today by Bank of China Paris, a branch of BoC Beijing with operations in Paris since the last thirty years. This noteworthy CNH2 billion issue (1.5 billion in two-year bonds and 0.5 billion in five-year bonds) is part of BoC Ltd’s CHN10 billion Medium Term Notes program.

The issue illustrates BoC Paris’ growing business volume in CNH. It also testifies to the vitality of Paris’ contribution to the internationalization of the Chinese currency, having been led by BoC alongside three pivotal players in the Paris financial market: BNPP, Crédit Agricole CIB and HSBC.

This transaction rounds out the financing plan for BoC Paris’s business - which began with a CNH4 billion issue of certificates of deposit (1 year) - providing a debt schedule of one to five years for a total of CNH6 billion.

This transaction is a success and has been over-subscribed.

Paris EUROPLACE is actively working to make Paris one of the leading offshore RMB centers in Europe, as evidenced by recent agreements signed between French and Chinese authorities:
 June 2014: Banque de France and the People’s Bank of China concluded an agreement to launch a renminbi clearing system in Paris.
 March 2014: upon the Paris visit of the President of the People’s Republic of China, Mr. Xi Jinping, a RQFII (Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors) quota of RMB80 billion was granted to French institutional investors for direct investment in the Chinese financial market and to develop their business in China.
 October 2013: The PBOC and the European Central Bank signed agreement to establish a RMB350 billion swap line.

This momentum reflects the strengthening relations between France and China, while 20% of Franco-Chinese trade is already denominated in RMB, Paris stands out as the second largest center for bank deposits with RMB20 billion, and major French companies are among the largest bond issuers, having issued RMB10 billion.