The Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE), the China Financial Futures Exchange (CFFE) and the Deutsche Boerse (DB) will jointly establish a trading platform for RMB offshore business, according to an agreement on May 27.

The joint venture, China Europe International Exchange Co. will be headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany and start trading in the fourth quarter of this year. The SSE holds 40 percent of the new venture, the CFFE owns 20 percent and the DB holds 40 percent.

The venture will offer offshore yuan-dominated securities products and derivatives, as well as give international investors access to shares on the Chinese mainland.

Analysts hail the new venture as "another landmark to boost two-way opening of the capital markets and the internalization of Chinese currency" after China launched the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect in November last year, which allows overseas investors to trade Shanghai shares via the Hong Kong Exchange & Clearing (HKEx).