Hong Leong Bank Launches Trade Settlement Service in Yuan

Kuala Lumpur, 12 August 2009

Hong Leong Bank (HLB) has recently partnered with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (Singapore) to offer trade settlement services in Yuanfor its trade customers in conjunction with China 's recent announcement for cross-border Yuan trade settlements as part of its plan for the Yuan to becomeconvertible.

Following the recent announcement of the commencement of the cross-border trade transactions in Yuan by China in early July, China has decided to allow thegreater use of the Yuan in international trade as a first step to make the Yuan global. Trade between China and its neighboring countries havetraditionally been settled in US Dollars.

To-date, a selection of enterprises in China has been allowed to participate in this pilot Yuan trade settlement programme. P rovincial-level governmentsof selected pilot areas will coordinate with relevant agencies in their localities to recommend pilot enterprise candidates for these Yuan cross-bordertrade settlements.

"This move to settle trade transactions in Yuan will help enterprises manage their costs more efficiently especially in the area of foreign exchange," saidYvonne Chia , Group Managing Director, Hong Leong Bank. "Malaysian companies will now have the convenience of settling trade payments in Yuan directly withtheir counterparts in China ultimately reducing their dependence on the US Dollar. The ease of settling trade payments in Yuan will further boost theforeign trade growth between China and Malaysia ."

"At Hong Leong Bank, we are constantly providing innovative products and services to meet the needs of our customers. With this latest trade settlementservices in Yuan, we hope to reach out to more customers who are searching for a convenient, efficient and cost-effective trade service," she concluded.

At present, the pilot cross-border trade services are applicable to selected enterprises and restricted to Shanghai , Guangzhou , Shenzhen, Dongguan andZhuhai.

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Press Release - 12/08/2009