Sydney Yuan Hub Seen Saving Importers 7% in Trading: Currencies

Australian importers are in line for a windfall after Chinese President Xi Jinping used his visit to the country to anoint Sydney as a yuan trading center with the two nations completing a free-trade agreement.

The ability to exchange Australian dollars directly into yuan, rather than first converting them into the U.S. currency, will save companies as much as 7 percent on deals with China, according to HSBC Holdings Plc. Chinese investment into Australia has the potential to increase seven times to almost $300 billion by 2020 through the yuan hub and measures such as the trade accord, Westpac Banking Corp. estimates.