A resident displays a new 100-yuan banknote in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 12, 2015. (Xinhua/Luo Xiaoguang)
Kenya-based regional financial services institution NCBA Group has said that rising Sino-Africa trade is driving the uptake of yuan accounts.
NAIROBI, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- Kenya-based regional financial services institution NCBA Group has said that rising Sino-Africa trade is driving the uptake of yuan accounts.
John Gachora, managing director of NCBA Group, told Xinhua in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, that its clients can open yuan-denominated accounts because it banks with correspondent banks in China.
"The availability of Chinese currency makes it more convenient and affordable for trade between China and Africa," Gachora said Thursday on the sidelines of the release of the group's financial results for the first six months of 2023.
NCBA Group operates in Kenya and four other African countries -- Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Cote d'Ivoire.
Staff members unload cargo at the new harbor of Lamu Port in Kenya, on May 20, 2021. (Zhang Nanfang/Xinhua)
According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, China has become the country's largest trading partner, foreign investor, and project contractor.
Gachora said the use of the yuan for Sino-African trade reduces dependence on the U.S. dollar to settle international trade.
He said trading in the Chinese currency has also emerged as a huge business opportunity due to the presence of a large Chinese community in the region. ■