B.C. sets sights on becoming Asia's financial hub in the West

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VANCOUVER – British Columbia is ramping up efforts to make trade deals with Asian nations by charting a route to build the first international trading centre for the Chinese currency.

Premier Christy Clark sang the province's virtues to an elite group of business people from China on Monday.

She told the invite-only forum that B.C. is making headway towards establishing Vancouver as the first offshore settlement centre for the Chinese currency renminbi, or RMB, in North America.

Clark says the government is also aiming to persuade five Asian head offices to set up in B.C. from any business sector by 2020, which would be aided by the currency arrangement.

She says 15 major Chinese investors are already doing business in B.C. and the government will introduce legislation in the fall to help convince more come on the board.

About 80 senior business executives with the APEC China Business Council to Canada attended the forum, representing some of the largest private and state-owned enterprises in China.

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