TOPIC

Currencies

Currencies
Currency market action focused on developments with the Chinese yuan and the Hong Kong dollar.
A dealer displays Singapore dollar notes at a money changer in Singapore. Photo: AFP
Singapore

In Singapore’s last bastion of cash, money changers fight the future

From sailors to tourists, hundreds flock daily to The Arcade, proving that in a city obsessed with fintech, cold hard cash still holds sway.

videocam
Banking & finance

Mainland China, Hong Kong launching Payment Connect scheme to aid capital flows

Hong Kong economy

Macroscope | Demise of Hong Kong dollar peg? Still the bet you shouldn’t take

videocam
11
Banking & finance

Editorial | US dollar uncertainty propels use of e-CNY

As mainland’s international operations centre, Shanghai will increase global reach of yuan, promote China’s central bank digital currency.

China’s e-CNY online currency is picking up as global worries about the dollar continue. Photo: Shutterstock
US-China trade war

China cuts US Treasury stockpiles to 16-year low amid Trump’s trade war

As tariffs rattled markets in April, Beijing’s US debt holdings fell to their lowest level since 2009.

54
Stablecoins

Why US-backed stablecoins have China wary of a potentially more dominant dollar

Former head of China’s central bank warns ‘USD-backed stablecoins could have worldwide influence’, and what about the yuan’s internationalisation?

5
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Digital currencies

Opinion | Hong Kong developing a yuan-pegged stablecoin would be a game changer

In a world of dollar-pegged stablecoins, the case for yuan-based alternatives – and what it means for the future of money – is compelling.

videocam
An e-CNY logo at the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing in 2021. A well-regulated yuan stablecoin issued from Hong Kong could serve as a strategic tool for China’s yuan internationalisation efforts. Photo: AP
Banking & finance

Hong Kong can power yuan’s international ascent: HSBC co-CEO

City should scale up yuan-denominated trade finance and participation in stock and bond markets, David Liao says.

Yuan

China’s yuan fixing rate hits 2-month high as US dollar drops

With the US dollar sagging, China’s central bank has strengthened the midpoint rate for the country’s currency in recent days.

videocam
Commodities

Crypto can’t chip away at gold’s safe-haven shield: gold researcher

Spot gold price surged to US$3,444 after Israel’s strikes on Iran.

videocam
Gold bricks are seen displayed in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. Photo: Edmond So
John Lee

Exclusive | Hong Kong’s US-dollar peg a key success factor and will stay: John Lee

City leader also says Hong Kong’s status as yuan offshore centre to be enhanced, while stablecoins are part of ‘blue oceans’ growth strategy.

videocam
7
The city’s de facto central bank recently made multiple interventions to defend the peg as the Hong Kong dollar hit the higher end of its trading band. Photo: Felix Wong
Banking & finance

Open Dialogue | Is the US dollar’s decline inevitable? Kenneth Rogoff and Yu Yongding weigh in

The two economists reflect on how the Trump administration’s recent actions have harmed the US dollar – and handed China a golden opportunity.

videocam
15
Hong Kong economy

Opinion | With stablecoin law, Hong Kong is reasserting its financial supremacy

While rivals like Singapore hedge their regulatory bets, Hong Kong is betting that institutional investors value clarity and transparency.

videocam
US-China relations

Opinion | How China could benefit from a ‘Mar-a-Lago Accord’

Trump’s economic adviser has proposed a plan to get some countries to help devalue the US dollar. This might not be a bad option for China.

videocam
US President Donald Trump (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping walk together at the Mar-a-Lago estate in West Palm Beach, Florida, on April 7, 2017. Relations between the two countries have soured during Trump’s second term in office. Photo: AFP
Pakistan

Pakistan’s bitcoin reserve plan aims to turn energy surplus into tech investment

The strategy to diversify the economy and hedge against currency volatility carries high risks, but the rewards could be great, analysts say.

videocam
Karachi Electric Corporation technicians work on a high voltage line in Pakistan. Photo: AFP
Singapore

Is Asia ditching the dollar? China’s yuan, gold, and bitcoin drive trade shifts

Asian economies are exploring de-dollarisation, amid geopolitical risks, signalling a monetary shift towards a multipolar monetary system.

videocam
Digital currencies

Hong Kong’s crypto industry optimistic about stablecoin ‘legal clarity’

Animoca chairman Yat Siu said Hong Kong has ‘leapfrogged’ the US with its new stablecoin law, but experts warn of high short-term costs.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
US-China trade war

Will US dollar doubts, risk of ‘triple whammy’ give rise to yuan’s renaissance?

In the wake of tariff turmoil and Washington’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’, analysts are questioning safety of US assets while yuan’s resilience turns heads.

videocam
6
China’s yuan has been on a steady upward trajectory – gaining 1 per cent against the US dollar since April 2, when US President Donald Trump announced his unprecedented “Liberation Day” tariffs. Photo: dpa
Banking & finance

Explainer | Why central banks are playing a big role in pushing up gold prices

Governments are buying up gold as they see it as a safe investment – and, in some cases, a tool for evading Western sanctions.

China economy

My Take | Beijing should push for more yuan global influence as faith in US dollar falters

Amid erratic US trade policies, Asian governments are looking for alternatives for reserves, payments and settlements, giving the yuan an opening.

videocam
Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)

Hong Kong passes stablecoin law, clearing way for sales to public

Law sets up a ‘risk-based, pragmatic, and flexible regulatory regime’ with public protection in mind, head of city’s monetary authority says.

A view of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council Complex at Tamar in Admiralty on March 8, 2024. Photo: Jelly Tse
Singapore

Singapore’s central bank chief sees ‘no alternative’ to US dollar assets

Even with three major credit rating agencies now downgrading the US, Singapore’s central bank boss says US dollar assets are irreplaceable.

A clerk sorts US$100 notes at a bank in Seoul, South Korea, earlier this month. Photo: Yonhap/EPA-EFE
Hong Kong economy

Opinion | Cryptocurrencies are emerging as ‘digital gold’ in a shaky world economy

Demand is growing for borderless, neutral financial tools in a fragmenting world economy, with rising tariffs and alliances under strain.

videocam
Yuan

China’s yuan can rival US dollar as go-to currency if more accessible: economist

‘US exceptionalism is over – the beginning of the end,’ Singapore-based economist warns while weighing in on how China can internationalise its currency.

videocam
15
Yuan

Offshore yuan gets a lift as market awaits outcome of US-China trade talks

With both China and the US reporting ‘progress’ in their first trade talks, the offshore yuan had strengthened to 7.22 per US dollar by Monday.

China’s offshore yuan has appreciated in value after progress was reported in trade talks with the US. Photo: AFP
Singapore

Is the Singapore dollar’s stellar run about to end?

The city state’s currency is up about 5 per cent versus the US dollar this year. But headwinds appear to be picking up.

Singapore’s financial district. The city state last month cut its 2025 growth forecast. Photo: EPA-EFE
United States

Opinion | Either way, Trump’s push for a global monetary reset will be painful

There will be pain, either shared by all voluntarily through peaceful negotiation or imposed on all through force. Take your pick.

videocam
Taiwan

Macroscope | There’s more to Taiwan’s currency shock than meets the eye

The surge in the New Taiwan dollar has exposed how trade policy, capital flows, geopolitics and sovereign risk have become closely intertwined.

videocam
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.
SUPPORT NOW
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
OSZAR »