Finance committee  I'll start by saying that because we represent large corporations, many of them are already in China and they have very complex operations, so they don't necessarily need our advice on how to operate in China. When we saw this initiative coming along, we raised it with the govern

Finance committee  No, we don't. We represent large companies. Many of them have supply chains that will have many SMEs as a part of that, but we only represent large—

Finance committee  We don't deal directly with their supply chain companies. We do research on the size of their supply chains and how that fits into the overall Canadian economy.

Finance committee  I'll start by saying that FIPA was a very good and very welcomed agreement to help clarify investment and the rules around investment. That makes Canada stand out for Chinese investors as safe and reliable.

Finance committee  We have commented on that previously, and we have raised some concerns with the way that was communicated. It did create uncertainty for Chinese investors; hence the reason we've recommended that Canada take a couple of extra steps—as I said, a strategic partnership and an FTA—to

Finance committee  I think the advantages for SMEs could be significant just because of that transaction cost decline that will occur here. As you know, the large companies already have big operations and are active in China. But I think SMEs looking to export to China can use this as a way to do s

Finance committee  China, as I noted, is our second largest trading partner, but I highlighted a few sectors where Canada could be doing more. Other countries are trading much more with China than we are. This hub gives us an advantage, because we can now compete with competitor countries in China,

Finance committee  I'll have to double-check on that. I'm not sure.

Finance committee  Yes, I do. An example is Australia. I can't give you the trade figure. I can give you the RMB transaction increase; since their hub, it's increased by 248%. I don't know how that's translated into actual trade flows, but it's a significant increase in the currency trade.

Finance committee  I don't know the specifics of how that deal would work, but I would think an American company could use a Canadian financial institution to negotiate that deal.

Finance committee  Yes, the first mover advantage is critical. It will really be important first for financial institutions. Canada, being the only country in the Americas to have this designation, has a very short window before China liberalizes its capital account to offer these services, not onl

Finance committee  Yes, there would be lower transaction costs there. Other examples—

Finance committee  Good morning, Mr. Chairman, committee members. Thank you for the invitation to appear before you to discuss the Canadian Renminbi Trading Centre, or RMB hub. The Canadian Council of Chief Executives represents 150 chief executives and leading entrepreneurs in all sectors and re

Finance committee  Mr. Chair, I'll just say, to begin with, that growing cash balances in corporations over the past few years have basically been driven by the fact that there's a huge amount of uncertainty in the global economy. I'm confident that once the U.S. recovery takes hold, and demand in

Finance committee  I'd be happy to forward a report to you by TD that is quite good and shows exactly what the balances look like.