An interbank rate for offshore renminbi is to be launched in Hong Kong, a move that will help investors and goods traders hedge their exposure to the Chinese currency. 香港将推出离岸人民币银行间拆借利率，此举将帮助投资者和商品贸易商对冲人民币敞口。

The city’s Treasury Markets Association said it would begin publishing fixings from June this year, covering tenors ranging from overnight to 12 months. 香港财资市场公会(Treasury Markets Association)宣布，将从今年6月起发布离岸人民币同业拆息定价，利率期限从隔夜到12个月不等。

The Hong Kong authority will base the rates on contributions from at least 15 banks in a similar way 财资市场公会将根据至少15家银行所报的利率计算确定人民币银行间拆借利率，类似于目前香港银行同业拆息(Hibor)——面向港元交易的基准利率——的计算方式。

to how it calculates the Hong Kong interbank offered rate (Hibor), which is for Hong Kong dollar-based transactions. 离岸人民币银行间拆借利率将被称为CNH Hibor——CNH是在香港交易的人民币的缩写。

The rates will be referred to as CNH Hibor – CNH being the shorthand for renminbi traded in Hong Kong. 香港决定推出人民币银行间拆借利率之际，适逢银行间拆借利率制度本身受到密切关注，原因是一系列丑闻爆发，全球监管机构纷纷对利率操纵指控展开调查。

The decision to press ahead with a renminbi Hibor fixing comes at a time when the system of interbank rates is under intense scrutiny following scandals and amid a series of rate-fixing investigations across the globe. 不过，在市场参与者看来，新的拆息定价机制将是鼓励全球使用人民币的重要一步。

However, market participants see the new rate fixing as an important step in encouraging global use of the renminbi. “这个动态应当受到市场欢迎，因为CNH Hibor利率可用作多种（离岸人民币）产品的基准，包括银行贷款、浮动利率‘点心债券’，潜在还有利率互换，”法国农业信贷银行(Crédit Agricole)亚洲策略师张淑(Frances Cheung)在发给客户的一份简报中表示。

“This development should be welcomed by the market as the CNH Hibor fixing could serve as a benchmark for a number of [offshore renminbi] products including bank loans, floating-rate dim sum bonds and potentially interest rate swaps,” said Frances Cheung, Asia strategist at Crédit Agricole, in a note to clients. 对冲人民币敞口的困难，此前一直被列为提高跨境贸易人民币结算比例的一大障碍。

Difficulties in hedging renminbi exposure have been cited as a major barrier to increased cross-border trade settlement in the Chinese currency. 澳大利亚央行(RBA)副行长菲利普•罗伊(Philip Lowe)本周表示，用于对冲人民币汇率风险的工具的可获得性和定价，是阻碍在双边贸易中采用人民币作为结算货币的“最重要因素”。

Reserve Bank of Australia deputy governor Philip Lowe said this week that the availability and pricing of instruments to hedge renminbi currency risk was the “most important factor” that was slowing the uptake of renminbi invoicing in bilateral trade. 汇丰(HSBC)也表示，该行已执行首份CNH Hibor互换合约，提供了有关该利率会有多高的早期迹象。

HSBC also said that it had executed its first CNH Hibor swap contract, providing an early indication of what the rate might be. 该行完成了一只1年期场外利率互换，价值为1亿元人民币，固定利率2.64%。

The bank completed a one-year over-the-counter interest rate swap with a value of Rmb100m, at a fixed rate of 2.64 per cent. 此外，香港事实上的央行——香港金融管理局(Hong Kong Monetary Authority, HKMA)取消了针对人民币净敞口头寸和流动资金比率的限制，使各银行有更大的自由决定如何管理人民币资产。

In a separate move, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the territory’s de facto central bank, removed restrictions on net open positions and liquidity ratios in the Chinese currency, giving banks more freedom to decide how they manage their renminbi holdings. 汇丰亚洲外汇策略主管保罗•梅克尔(Paul Mackel)表示，这些变化将改善离岸人民币市场的流动性，鼓励更多银行间放贷。