Thank you, Mr. Chair, and members of the committee. I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you this morning and I look forward to responding to your questions.
My name is Bryan Osmar. I am the managing director of market infrastructure for RBC Capital Markets in Toronto.
Our capital markets business within RBC currently operates in 15 countries with over 6,900 employees located across the globe. RBC has taken a leadership role in promoting the use of RMB-denominated products in a Canadian context.
As this committee heard last week, there have been two Canadian issuers of RMB bonds, also known as dim sum bonds. RBC led the $100 million RMB transaction by EDC, the first for a Canadian issuer, and participated in the Province of British Columbia transactions that raised 2.5 billion RMB in the first issue, and as was mentioned a moment ago, 3 billion RMB in the second offering.
In light of our interest in the RMB market, we've been an active participant in industry efforts to create an RMB hub in Canada. In this regard, I would like to take this opportunity to note our appreciation for the efforts of private sector firms and associations, the provincial government officials and agencies, and in particular the Canadian government, including the Prime Minister, the Bank of Canada, and the Department of Finance, in moving ahead with this initiative.
This partnership between the private sector and the government has been critical to the success of creating an RMB hub for Canada. Once it is fully operational, there are expected to be a number of benefits associated with the Canadian RMB hub.
There will be improved trade flows. Our expectation is that a Canadian hub will help to strengthen commercial and financial ties with China. There will be improved investment opportunities. The new 50 billion RMB RQFII quota under the investment program will facilitate the ability of Canadians to invest in RMB-denominated products and pursue opportunities in Chinese capital markets. Improved efficiency in payments allowing for direct conversion to RMB will expedite the processing of payments and should help to broaden the offshore RMB liquidity pool. Canada may also benefit, as was mentioned, as a first mover by developing the offshore RMB market in this time zone throughout the Americas.
While significant work has already been completed, this initiative is still in its early stages. As this committee heard last week, the clearing bank for Canada, ICBC, is planning to become operational with the first phase of its renminbi clearing operation in the coming weeks.
An important consideration for the Canadian RMB hub and for RMB internationally is that this market is still in its infancy. As experience grows, the market will become more sophisticated, ideally moving to the point where business and financial institutions can more fully engage in RMB markets in the same way they participate in deeper markets such as those in the euro and the yen.
As mentioned earlier, at RBC we are actively engaged in providing a wide range of products and services in RMB in order to meet our clients' needs. We look forward to taking advantage of the benefits of the new Canadian RMB hub as it becomes more fully operational over time.
With that, I would be happy to answer any questions you have.
Thank you very much.