United Overseas Bank has recently launched a range of renminbi-denominated products as it seeks to meet growing demand for the Chinese currency.

Among its new products are the foreign currency fixed deposit account, which pays 0.9 per cent to 1.45 per cent per annum in interest depending on the period of deposit; the global currency premium account, which is designed exclusively for privilege banking clients and pays 0.7 per cent a year in interest; and the United Renminbi Bond Fund, which is geared towards retail investors in Singapore.

For the foreign fixed deposit account, deposits for one month should be at least RMB250,000 ($38,063) to earn interest, while the global currency premium account requires a minimum deposit of RMB250,000. The new bond fund, which will be launched by the end of March, will rely on the appreciation of the Chinese currency over the medium term through investments in renminbi-denominated debt securities or those distributed outside Mainland China.

In a statement, the company said that the bond market is expecting to see a 2 per cent appreciation of the renminbi against the US dollar and the Singapore dollar over the next 12 months. UOB decided to launch its own range of renminbi offerings in response to a rising trend among banks, such as DBS and Bank of China, of introducing funds denominated in the currency to the market.