Shanghai Clearing House Expands Yuan Spot Settlement to Singapore Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, and Thai Baht

The Shanghai Clearing House has expanded its central clearing services for yuan spot transactions to include the Singapore dollar, New Zealand dollar, and Thai Baht. This move aims to promote the internationalization of the Chinese currency and facilitate trade settlement and capital flows with countries along the Belt and Road routes.

The expansion was launched on September 14, with a total first-day trading volume of approximately CNY 996 million (approximately $148.5 million). Twelve banks participated in the inaugural session.

Bosco Wu, an investment strategy analyst at Bank of East Asia, noted that the central clearing mechanism lowers counterparty risk and conserves capital and credit lines required for trading, which should encourage banks to quote prices more actively and improve liquidity in the yuan-Singapore dollar, yuan-Thai Baht, and yuan-New Zealand dollar markets.

The Shanghai Clearing House will waive clearing fees related to new currency pairs from September 14, 2026 through the end of 2028 to reduce cost burdens for market participants and encourage migration to the new services.