Among U.S. companies that do business in China, theproportion settlingtransactions in renminbi (RMB) has nearly doubled in the pastyear. The United States still lags behind some European nations,but the trend is clearly toward increased use of the Chinesecurrency. These are the key findings of an HSBC study released last week.

The bank commissioned Nielsen to survey financialdecision-makers in 1,304 companies that are either foreignbusinesses engaged in trade with mainland China, or else companiesbased in China that do business abroad. More one in five use theRMB for settlement, and that figure rises to more than two in fiveamong organizations over US$500 million in annual revenue. Outsideof mainland China (33 percent), Taiwan (38 percent), and Hong Kong(58 percent), the countries in which the largest proportion ofrespondents said their company settles some cross-border deals inRMB were France (26 percent) and Germany (23 percent).

Among U.S.-based organizations that either have a physicalpresence in mainland China or engage in import/export activitiesthere, 17 percent currently do business in RMB. That's nearlydoubled over the past year; in 2013, only 9 percent of U.S.businesses dealt in RMB. And across all geographic regions, a thirdof companies that are not currently using the RMB plan to do so inthe future.