Chinese companies prefer yuan to settle cross-border transactions due to convenience rather than expecting any appreciation in the currency, an industry survey revealed yesterday.

There is widespread confidence in the future of yuan as a major global trade and investment currency among Chinese enterprises, an HSBC report said yesterday.

About 77 percent of Chinese enterprises said they expect a third of their international trade to be conducted in yuan by 2015 - compared with 10 percent now - and 30 percent of the respondents plan to use the local currency for investment-related purposes in the next 12 months.

About 692 Chinese mainland-based companies participated in the HSBC survey at the end of August.

Exchange risk management and operational convenience are the main reasons for choosing yuan for cross-border transactions. Only 25 percent of the companies said they used yuan for trade settlement to benefit from currency appreciation this year, compared with 44 percent last year.