Such an occasion as our 35th anniversary could not therefore pass unless we staged such a dialogue on a topic of economic interest. We are delighted to welcome our panelists Dr Trevor Farrell, formerly of the University of the West Indies at St. Augustine, Dr Gregor Heinrich of the BIS and Dr Jose Blanco of the Latin American Monetary Council.
The establishment of the clearing bank has promoted the role of the RMB in trade among Australian companies and the development of the pool of local RMB deposits. This is an important development. The Bank of China is also providing an important source of finance for Chinese companies operating in Australia as well as for Australian companies.