(Yicai Global) Nov. 2 -- The presence of the yuan in Cambodia will attract Chinese tourists, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Chen Changjiang, president of the Bank of China Ltd.'s [SHA:601988] Phnom Penh branch, as saying Oct. 31 in the Cambodian capital at the second Cambodian Tourism Industry Symposium on Expanding the Chinese Market and Serving Chinese Tourists.

Cambodia's Ministry of Tourism is promoting the use of the yuan in the country's tourism market, which dovetails with the bank's efforts to promote the full circulation of the yuan in Cambodia, said Chen.

The use of the yuan in the Cambodian tourism market is increasingly common, and Chinese tourists have been able to pay with the yuan or a China UnionPay card in many stores and restaurants in the country, Chen said. Some businesses have even added prices in yuan, he said.

The Bank of China has set up branches in major tourism cities in Cambodia including Siem Reap and Sihanoukville to facilitate yuan services for local businesses.

The Cambodian Ministry of Tourism and the ASEAN-China Center co-sponsored the two-day symposium. More than 600 representatives from Chinese and Cambodian governments and industries attended.