Shanghai's first Sino-foreign joint-venture commercial bank, the International Bank of Paris and Shanghai, has confirmed it has received approval from the People's Bank of China to handle yuan business in Pudong.
The 50-50 joint venture between France's Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China is among the second batch of four banks granted approval for yuan business in Shanghai.
The chief executive of BNP China and Hong Kong Group, Didier Balme, said the approval was 'a significant milestone in BNP's development in China'.
The bank was looking for a suitable premise in Pudong and yuan trade would start in the coming months, he said.
The yuan licence would allow the bank to deal in yuan deposits, loans, settlements, guarantees, treasury bonds and other investments as well as existing business in foreign exchange.
The other three banks in the second batch are the Shanghai branches of British-based Standard Chartered Bank, Japan's Sanwa Bank and Dai-ichi Kangyo Bank.
