Local News

The Fukuoka City-based Nishi-Nippon City Bank began on August 2 allowing settlement of trade contracts between Japanese and Chinese firms using the Chinese yuan. It is the first bank in Kyushu to take such a step, and the bank believes it can expand its business through this service with the growing economic ties between the two countries. Such transactions had been prohibited by Chinese government regulations, and previous settlement was done in U.S. dollars or Japanese yen. Yuan settlement became possible when the Chinese government lifted the restrictions in June this year.