The yuan may have reached the status....>

CHINA PRESS: The yuan may have reached the status of being a safe-haven asset,

the Financial News, a newspaper run by the People's Bank of China, reported on

its front-page Tuesday. As the yuan has strengthened significantly recently,

foreign financial institutions have increasingly purchased more yuan-dominated

assets such as bonds, the report said. Foreign institutions held yuan-dominated

bonds of CNY839.318 billion as of the end of August, CNY15.332 billion more than

at the end of July, for the sixth consecutive monthly rise. The increase was

partly due to the yuan's appreciation, along with the opening of China's Bond

Connect scheme with Hong Kong and the higher yields on offer for Chinese bonds,

the report said. The yuan could be a leading force for Asia in terms of

stabilizing currencies in the region amid intensified tensions caused by North

Korea, the report said. Unidentified analysts quoted in the report said that the

stabilization of the yuan within a certain range "could provide more room for

monetary policy" movement by the government, and that discussions on the

possibility of reducing banks' required reserve ratios have occurred recently.

(Financial News)