"The day one of the big oil companies first invoices China for oil in renminbis and receives payment in Chinese government bonds as result is what will really open people’s eyes"
Mike Rees, chief executive of wholesale banking at Standard Chartered, foresees a tipping point for the burgeoning RMB market
(Big plans in Little China: Luxembourg steals a march in the race to become Europe’s renminbi centre)
"Being minister of finance is like buying a boat. The best day is when you are confirmed as minister, and the second-best day is when you reach the end of your term. It’s the same with a boat; the best day is when you buy it, the second best day is when you sell it"
So says Agustín Carstens, former Mexican finance minister – who is very happy in his current job as governor of the country’s central bank
(The pragmatism of Agustín Carstens)
"A completely free-floating exchange rate regime is not a good idea for most emerging markets, and not even for advanced economies. Even though they might pretend otherwise, every central bank is prone to intervention that changes exchange rate outcomes"
Tharman Shanmugaratnam, deputy prime minister and finance minister of Singapore, extols the virtues of a managed-float FX regime
(Asia’s statesman sketches the face of global finance)
"To a certain extent, it was easier back then to develop resources because democracy wasn’t an obstacle"
Coal-mining company Adaro has had to adapt sharply as Indonesia has transformed from a dictatorship to democracy. David Tendian, Adaro’s CFO, points out that democracy can be obstructive