Bank Negara Malaysia is pleased to announce the opening of its representative office in Beijing by Dato' Sri Mustapa Mohamed, Minister of International Trade and Industry Malaysia. Also present at the opening were Dr Zhou Xiaochuan, the Governor of People's Bank of China and Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia.

The establishment of Bank Negara Malaysia's representative office in Beijing marks another milestone in bilateral ties between China and Malaysia and reflects the deepening of financial and economic linkages between the two countries. The representative office serves as an important liaison point with China's regulators and financial market participants and supports a deeper understanding of both countries' economic and financial development. The Beijing representative office is the third overseas representative office established by Bank Negara Malaysia, complementing its offices in London and New York.

In conjunction with the opening of the Bank Negara Malaysia Beijing Representative Office and as part of ongoing efforts to promote bilateral trade and investment, Bank Negara Malaysia also wishes to announce the following:

First, the introduction of the Renminbi Liquidity Facility (RLF) to licensed onshore banks that aims to enhance renminbi liquidity in the domestic market. The RLF provides an additional avenue for licensed onshore banks to borrow or lend RMB with Bank Negara Malaysia. The RLF is an initiative arising from the Currency Swap Arrangement between Bank Negara Malaysia and People's Bank of China that was renewed on 8 February 2012. Further details of the terms and conditions of the RLF will be available on the Bank's FAST website (https://fast.bnm.gov.my).

Secondly, to facilitate international trade of goods and services with Malaysian residents, a non-resident financial institution that meets the prudential requirements is now allowed to offer ringgit trade financing in collaboration with a licensed onshore bank. This is in line with the direction to promote local currency settlements that aims to reduce the costs of doing business, through better management of foreign exchange exposures.

Thirdly, the Bank is pleased to announce that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a Cross-Border Collateral Arrangement (CBCA) has been signed with the People's Bank of China. The CBCA will enable, in the future, the use of home currency collateral in the form of securities or cash to obtain domestic liquidity from the host country. Bank Negara Malaysia has signed CBCAs with the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Bank of Thailand in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

The contact details and address of Bank Negara Malaysia's Beijing Representative Office is as follows:

Units 23-25, Level 47, China World Tower, No 1, Jianguomenwai Avenue, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100004 China
Telephone: +86 (10) 6505 5865
Fax: +86 (10) 8535 1890