As of Dec. 28, China will once again lift the upper limits of the deposit rates for U.S. dollars and Hong Kong dollars in commercial banks within Chinese territory.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC), the nation's central bank, declared on Tuesday that the upper limit for one-year deposits of U.S. dollars and Hong Kong dollars will increase 0.5 percentage point and 0.25 percentage point to 3 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively.

This is the fifth time this year that the central bank increases deposit rates for the two currencies. The first was on July 22 when the country initiated the reform of the Renminbi exchange rate.

Despite the efforts, the willingness of Chinese residents to make more deposits in foreign currencies continues to decline, and their confidence in deposits in Renminbi is still on the rise, according to a survey made by the central bank in the fourth quarter.

The persistent willingness to make deposits is largely due to lack of proper channels for investment, said an official with the central bank.

Source: Xinhua