The Bank of China (BOC) has said it is ready to broaden the usage of renminbi (RMB) in its trade and investment activities in Indonesia in line with Beijing’s efforts to internationalize the Chinese currency.

BOC Jakarta branch manager Zhang Min said the bank could offer the full range of cross-border RMB products and services in Indonesia, such as cross-border RMB trade settlement, RMB deposits and loan facilities, RMB remittances, RMB cash exchange, global market RMB products and RMB banknotes.

"For example, BOC Jakarta has brought RMB banknotes amounting to RMB2.7 billion to the Indonesian market. In the first half of this year, our branch's cross-border RMB clearing amounted to 129.77 billion, up 387 percent from the same period in 2015," he said in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The broad usage of RMB between the two countries, he added, would reduce losses caused by US dollar exchange rate fluctuations and would help develop healthy bilateral trade and investment relations.

Sahala Lumban Gaol, a special staff member at the State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Ministry, said import of capital goods and investment from China had increased despite decreasing trade between the two countries, as many big Chinese companies were participating in important projects in Indonesia.

He expressed his optimism that the usage of RMB would have a huge impact on Indonesian-Chinese trade. "It will reduce the cost of trade, and our dependence on the US dollar will decline in the long run," Sahala said. (ags)