China will impose a reserve requirement on offshore renminbi deposits, the central bank said on Monday, in an effort to soak up liquidity and raise the cost of speculating on renminbi depreciation.

中国央行周一表示，中国将对离岸人民币存款征收存款准备金，此举旨在吸纳流动性并提高针对人民币贬值的投机成本。

The move marks an escalation of efforts by the People’s Bank of China to discourage capital outflow and curb renminbi weakness in both the onshore and offshore markets.

此举标志着中国央行加大了打击资本外流并遏制在岸与离岸人民币贬值的努力。

The spread between onshore and offshore renminbi widened to a record early this month before the PBoC intervened in the offshore — or CNH — market in Hong Kong to narrow the gap. The onshore renminbi has fallen 2.7 per cent against the dollar since December.

本月初，在中国央行干预香港离岸人民币市场之前，人民币在岸与离岸汇率之间的利差扩大到创纪录水平。自今年12月以来，在岸人民币兑美元汇率下跌2.7%。

The overnight CNH borrowing rate jumped to a record 67 per cent last week after the PBoC sold dollars from its foreign exchange reserves to buy renminbi, causing a liquidity squeeze in the CNH money market.

上周，离岸人民币隔夜拆借利率跃升至创纪录的67%，此前中国央行从外汇储备中卖出美元，买入人民币，导致离岸人民币货币市场出现流动性紧缩。

The new reserve requirement will permanently raise CNH interest rates by forcing banks to set aside a portion of CNH deposits at the central bank, where the funds are not available for lending.

新的存款准备金政策将迫使银行在央行留出一定比例的人民币存款（这部分资金不能用于贷款），将永久性提高离岸人民币利率。

“As depreciation pressures have intensified, the offshore market has become an important venue for short-selling the renminbi,” Huili Chang, analyst at China International Capital Corp, wrote on Monday. “This move will push up the cost of offshore renminbi financing and help to restrain speculation.”

“由于人民币贬值压力加剧，离岸市场已成为做空人民币的一个重要场所，”中金(CICC)分析师周一写道，“此举将推升离岸人民币的融资成本并有助于限制投机。”

Speculators have used CNH as a funding currency to execute a short-term carry trade in which they swap borrowed renminbi for dollars, then repay the loan the following day once CNH has weakened.

投机者一直利用离岸人民币作为执行短期套利交易的融资货币，他们借入人民币换成美元，然后在离岸人民币贬值后的第二天偿还这笔借款。

While the onshore renminbi market remains tightly controlled, the offshore CNH market has largely operated outside the reach of mainland authorities since its creation in 2010. China’s central bank can exert regulatory influence over the CNH market, however, through rules affecting the onshore correspondent banks that serve as links between the onshore and offshore markets.

尽管在岸人民币市场仍受到严格控制，但自2010年创建以来，离岸人民币市场基本上不受内地监管部门的控制。然而，中国央行可以通过影响针对离岸与在岸市场之间的境内代理行的规定，对人民币离岸市场施加影响。

In recent weeks, the PBoC has intervened on the CNH by selling dollars in the open market, but the latest move broadens its use of administrative measures to influence the offshore market. The central bank previously suspended certain foreign-exchange transactions by onshore units of foreign banks that were helping clients arbitrage between the onshore and offshore renminbi exchange rates.

最近几周，中国央行通过在公开市场上卖出美元，对人民币离岸市场进行干预，但这一最新举措扩大了利用行政举措影响离岸市场的范围。中国央行此前曾暂停外国银行在华分支机构的一些外汇交易，这些银行帮助客户在在岸与离岸人民币汇率之间套利。

The PBoC published rules in December 2014 allowing it to impose a required reserve ratio on correspondent banks, but the ratio had been set at zero.

2014年12月，中国央行发布规定，允许对代理行征收存款准备金，但存款准备金率暂定为零。

The central bank will enforce a “normal” reserve requirement on onshore banks that accept renminbi deposits from offshore banks from January 25, it said on Monday, without specifying a number. The current reserve requirement for onshore renminbi deposits is 17.5 per cent for large banks.

中国央行周一表示，将从1月25日起，对接受境外银行人民币存款的境内银行“执行正常存款准备金率”政策，但没有透露具体数额。目前大银行的在岸人民币存款的存款准备金率为17.5%。

The new reserve ratio creates a “counter-cyclical adjustment mechanism for cross-border renminbi liquidity”, the PBoC said, without mentioning the exchange rate.

中国央行表示，新的存款准备金率“建立了对跨境人民币资金流动进行逆周期调节的长效机制”，央行没有提及人民币汇率。