The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has received approval from China's central bank to operate a bank clearing business for Renminbi-denominated transactions based in Singapore. 

The licence from the People's Bank of China makes the Singapore branch of ICBC the designated RMB-clearing bank in the city-state. Singapore is the first regional financial centre outside of China to have such a capacity. ICBC's local RMB clearing operations are in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

The move comes at a time of growing interest in developing RMB-based products, including those for the wealth management sector. 

Under the agreement, financial institutions in China and Singapore can engage in cross-border RMB clearing through the Singapore office, apart from agent banks. At present, Hong Kong dominates the market for offshore RMB-denominated trades and financial products. 

The announcement came alongside the launch of ICBC's three new business hubs, also in Singapore. These include private banking, commodity and structured trade finance and cash management. 

ICBC Singapore was set up in 1993 and records some RMB15.3 billion ($2.47 billion) in assets as of the end of 2012. RMB-related transactions in the year totaled RMB94 billion ($15.2 billion), up 107 per cent from 2011.