Hong Kong is considering wider use of renminbi for government payments and settlements, including some stamp-duty payments made at counters that accept renminbi. The proposal appears in the government’s five-year plan and involves studying suitable applications, rather than switching government payments wholesale from Hong Kong dollars.
Michael Wong Wai-lun, the deputy financial secretary, said in an interview that direct renminbi payment could save conversion costs and administrative work where a product or service is already priced in renminbi.
He said most services in Hong Kong remain priced in Hong Kong dollars. He also said civil servants’ salaries would not be affected and that the Hong Kong dollar’s status as a freely convertible currency would remain intact.
Christopher Hui Ching-yu, the secretary for financial services and the treasury, said in a radio programme that some government expenditure and revenue are already settled in renminbi. The government’s next step, he said, is to explore larger and more effective uses on that existing foundation and improve the circulation of offshore renminbi receipts and payments.
Hui described the proposal as an expansion of existing arrangements, rather than a change in monetary policy.