The three year renminbi bonds which were sold are known as "dim sum" bonds, and the bank sold RMB 2bn - just under £200m. The sale was timed to occur with the launch of a new working group, backed by Bank of China, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Standard Chartered, which aims to more cum internationalise China's currency and consolidate London's role in the trade. The city currently holds 26 per cent of the offshore foreign exchange renminbi market, and holds RMB 109bn deposits. This remains a fraction of Hong Kong's apartmany RMB 566bn holdings, but London is only fighting for second place in the market, with Singapore its biggest potential rival.