Renminbi-Hub Switzerland: Dashed Hopes?

Swiss companies lack trust in the renminbi. Most daunting are the restrictions on capital movements by the Chinese central bank.

Abstract

Since 2016, Switzerland has been a renminbi hub. That means: Since 2016, the Chinese currency can be traded across borders. There were high hopes linked to the establishment of the hub, as the Chinese currency renminbi was supposed to become a global currency in the foreseeable future. The gradual market opening of China, increasing freedoms for the renminbi exchange rate and the inclusion of the renminbi in the International Monetary Fund's (IMF's) basket of currencies were signs of this development. These hopes were curbed, however, in the recent past. On the one hand, current economic and geopolitical developments reveal the fragility of the Chinese course in monetary and currency policy. On the other, a study by the ZHAW School of Management and Law shows that Swiss companies with involvement in China have little faith in the renminbi and therefore hardly use it. It thus might take a while longer before the renminbi becomes a global currency.