Speculation rife that Sydney may be yuan trading centre

Sydney

AUSTRALIAN importers are in line for a windfall as speculation grows that Chinese President Xi Jinping will use his visit to the country this week to anoint Sydney as a yuan trading centre.

The ability to exchange Australian dollars directly into yuan, rather than first converting them into the US currency, would save companies as much as 7 per cent on deals with China, according to HSBC Holdings. Chinese investment in Australia has the potential to increase seven times to almost US$300 billion by 2020 if the yuan hub is accompanied by measures such as a free-trade agreement, Westpac Banking Corp estimates.