BEIJING: China will encourage companies to increase their use of yuan for settling cross-border trade deals and support foreigners’ use of the currency for direct investments in the country, the central bank said on Friday.
Beijing has been promoting the international use of the yuan since 2009, and yuan settlement accounted for 16.9 percent of China’s total goods trade in 2016.
A set of moves unveiled Friday will help “improve policies on yuan cross-border businesses, create a sound business environment and serve the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative,” the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said in a statement on its website.
Banks are encouraged to innovate their financial products to help companies settle trade deals in yuan, the central bank said.
The PBOC told Chinese banks to allow foreign investors to freely remit their yuan-denominated profits and dividends.
Chinese firms will be allowed to transfer their funds raised from overseas bond and stock issuance back home, based on their actual needs, the central bank said.
Beijing will make it easier for Chinese workers involved in “Belt and Road” work abroad to send their earnings back home, and meet workers’ demand for cross-border yuan settlements in wages and social welfare, the central bank said.
It also said China will also allow foreign institutions to use yuan in carbon emissions trading domestically.
China aims to get more cross-border transactions done in yuan
China aims to get more cross-border transactions done in yuan
Saudi Arabia’s cultural sector is a new economic engine between Riyadh and Paris, says ambassador
RIYADH: Culture has become a fundamental pillar in bilateral relations between France and Saudi Arabia, according to the French Ambassador to the Kingdom, Patrick Maisonnave.
Maisonnave noted its connection to the entertainment and tourism sectors, which makes it a new engine for economic cooperation between Riyadh and Paris.
He told Al-Eqtisadiah during the opening ceremony of La Fabrique in the Jax district of Diriyah that cultural cooperation with Saudi Arabia is an important element for its attractiveness in the coming decades.
La Fabrique is a space dedicated to artistic creativity and cultural exchange, launched as part of a partnership between the Riyadh Art program and the French Institute in Riyadh.
Running from Jan. 22 until Feb 14, the initiative will provide an open workspace that allows artists to develop and work on their ideas within a collaborative framework.
Launching La Fabrique as a space dedicated to artistic creativity
The ambassador highlighted that the transformation journey in the Kingdom under Vision 2030 has contributed to the emergence of a new generation of young artists and creators, alongside a growing desire in Saudi society to connect with culture and to embrace what is happening globally.
He affirmed that the relationship between the two countries is “profound, even cultural par excellence,” with interest from the Saudi side in French culture, matched by increasing interest from the French public and cultural institutions unfolding in the Kingdom.
Latest estimates indicate that the culture-based economy represents about 2.3 percent of France’s gross domestic product, equivalent to more than 90 billion euros ($106.4 billion) in annual revenues, according to government data. The sector directly employs more than 600,000 people, making it one of the largest job-creating sectors in the fields of creativity, publishing, cinema, and visual arts.
Saudi Arabia benefiting from French experience in the cultural field
Maisonnave explained that France possesses established cultural institutions, while Saudi Arabia is building a strong cultural sector, which opens the door for cooperation opportunities.
This comes as an extension of the signing of 10 major cultural agreements a year ago between French and Saudi institutions, aiming to enhance cooperation and transfer French expertise and knowledge to contribute to the development of the cultural system in the Kingdom.
He added that experiences like La Fabrique provide an opportunity to meet the new generation of Saudi creators, who have expressed interest in connecting with French institutions and artists in Paris and France.
La Fabrique encompasses a space for multiple contemporary artistic practices, including performance arts, digital and interactive arts, photography, music, and cinema, while providing the public with an opportunity to witness the stages of producing artistic works and interact with the creative process.
