Story New York City's China Town is the place to go for many things -- great food, designer knocks-offs, manicures, massages, and now -- money. The Bank of China, one of the country's main state-owned lenders, has now unlocked a particular door to US citizens. American customers are now allowed to come here and open up an account. Trading their US dollars for the Chinese yuan. And while plenty of US banks try to entice new customers with special offers, the Bank of China might be offering something irresistible today -- growth. Experts say China's currency is likely to go up, as the country remains a manufacturing powerhouse. Jim Rogers, Quantum Fund Co-Founder & Author, says: "The Chinese have been saving and investing over 35 percent of their income and the United States has been saving and investing two percent of our income. We've been borrowing and consuming. They've been saving and investing." The world's largest exporter is currently coasting with an enormous trade and budget surplus while the US is hardly treading, weighed down by a crushing 16.7-trillion dollar national debt. (a rate of 1.99 billion per day since Sept 30 2012) So, are Americans ready to give Benjamin Franklin the push? Some of them say: "US dollar? For me, it's terrible." Some think it's not surprising that Americans are swapping dollars for Chinese currency because: "...that's what's in papers. How China's going to take over and is doing so well and blah, blah, blah." If holding China's money becomes as trendy as holding the IPods it manufactures, economist Max Wolff says the yuan may eventually become a force to reckon with. He says: "If wealthy people around the world and in the US begin to hold their money in Chinese currency, Renminbi, yuan, and they associated with wealth and they associate it with a good investment, it legitimizes and jacks up the acceptance of the Chinese." As with any gamble, banking on the yuan does have it's risks. Max Wolff, says: "US private consumer takes one side of the bet. Bank of China takes one side of the bet. The only thing is that the Bank of China makes the decision on how valuable the yuan is." So more Americans flock to China Town, some may be looking to satisfying an appetite for sezhuan pork or perking duck, and others seeking economic security in a foreign currency. China's Bond: Dim sum bonds are bonds issued outside of China but denominated in Chinese renminbi, rather than the local currency. They are named after dim sum, a popular style of cuisine in Hong Kong. The first dim sum bond was issued by the China Development Bank in July 2007. Until July 2010, only Chinese and Hong Kong banks could issue renminbi-denominated bonds; deregulation led to the development of an offshore market in renminbi and the internationalization of dim sum bonds. The bonds became more popular as foreign companies sought yuan-denominated assets as the renminbi appreciated in 2011. Although the major market for dim sum bonds is Hong Kong, China Construction Bank became the first Chinese Bank to issue a renminbi denominated bond in London in November, 2012. This followed similar issues by non-Chinese banks like ANZ, HSBC and Banco do Brasil earlier in the year. The first foreign-issued dim sum bond by a non-financial company was announced in August 19, 2010 and issued in September 16, 2010 by McDonald's. 35.7 billion yuan in dim sun bonds were issued in 2010 and 131 billion in 2011. FreeVideo.RT.com

• published: 05 Sep 2013
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