AUSTRALIA'S former ambassador to China, Geoff Raby, yesterday called for Sydney to push to become a trading centre for the Chinese yuan so the currency is available for tourist transactions as it is in Hong Kong.
Mr Raby, who is now a director of Fortescue Metals and Yancoal Australia and is set to become vice-chairman of Macquarie's China arm, said Australia should become more involved with the internationalisation of the yuan.
He said cities such as Hong Kong and Singapore were now becoming trading centres for the Chinese currency as Beijing relaxed its financial controls.
At the same time Australia was benefiting from the rise of the middle class in China as this was seeing more people wanting to travel overseas.
"There is a strong interest by Chinese tourists in visiting the iconic sites of Sydney," he told a lunch hosted by the Committee for Sydney. "And financial services is a business where Sydney also has strengths.
