European investors are finding the yuan increasingly attractive and the City of London is committed to promote the international use of the currency, its Lord Mayor said in Shanghai Thursday.

"The growth of the offshore yuan market has been significant and very impressive in the past two years as the Chinese government has relaxed some exchange controls and made it clear that it intends to do more," said David Wootton, the Lord Mayor.[HongKong Richful  - Hong Kong Company Formation, Offshore Company Incorporation]

A recent City of London and The Banker survey of 200 European corporations and investors revealed that 99 percent of them see the yuan as important for global business activities within the next 10-15 years.

"Investors now value the yuan as a means to facilitate business with China, rather than simply bet on its appreciation," Wootton said.[Hong Kong Company Formation, Incorporation, Business Registration]

Fang Xinghai, director of the Shanghai Financial Services Office, yesterday told a forum that China may soon upgrade the settlement system to allow London to settle yuan directly with Shanghai or Beijing, instead of through Hong Kong.

Wootton said the future of London's yuan business depends on the ease of yuan settlement, and he hoped a new settlement system could be unveiled soon.