SINGAPORE - More companies in Singapore are using yuan to settle their cross-border business transactions, according to a survey by HSBC.

Its findings, released on Wednesday, showed that 15 per cent of companies here are doing so, up from 11 per cent last year.

This compares with 26 per cent of businesses in France and 23 per cent in Germany - the two countries where companies use the yuan the most, outside of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

"It is encouraging to see that more Singapore businesses are taking advantage of the benefits of transacting in yuan," said Mr Joseph Arena, head of global trade and receivables finance at HSBC Singapore.

"Given Singapore's position as a regional financing hub and the gateway to Asean, Singapore-based local (companies) and multinational scompanies are very well positioned to benefit from the increasing liberalisation of the yuan," he added.

HSBC surveyed more than 1,300 international companies that conduct business with or from China. The companies were from a variety of countries, including Singapore, Britain, France, Canada, Australia, China, Germany and the United Arab Emirates.

The Singapore companies now using yuan to settle cross-border transactions said they did so mainly to minimise foreign exchange costs.