(Yicai Global) Sept. 18 -- The Manila branch of Bank of China has received authorization to carry ouot yuan clearing in the Philippines, China's central bank said yesterday.

The branch wants to expand the use of the yuan in the Philippines, the People's Bank of China said. It already issues yuan-Philippine peso debit cards, has a local yuan clearing system and has helped the Philippine government issue panda bonds -- yuan-denominated bills from a foreign issuer -- in the Chinese interbank market twice, to the tune of almost USD4 billion, the statement added.