China, Singapore to introduce direct currency trading

The Monetary Authority of Singapore announced on Tuesday that China and Singapore will introduce direct trading of their currencies, a move that will entrench Singapore's position as Asia's largest center for foreign exchange trading.

More details on the direct trading of the currencies of China and Singapore will be released later, the MAS said on Tuesday.

China will extend its Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor program to Singapore, with an aggregate quota of 50 billion yuan ($8.2 billion), according to a statement from the MAS.

China has been internationalizing the use of the yuan. The country will also extend the RQFII program to London and give investors there the right to buy up to 80 billion yuan of Chinese securities, Xinhua reported.