THE use of the yuan worldwide surged to a record high in December partly due to increased yuan deposits in Hong Kong, a report showed yesterday.

The monthly indicator that tracks the globalization of the yuan, compiled by the Standard Chartered Bank, jumped 2.8 percent, the largest since August 2012, to 748 in December from November's 728 partly due to a sharp rebound in yuan deposits in Hong Kong.

The index surged 50 percent last year despite waning global demand, fragile market sentiment, and no expectations for the yuan to appreciate, the London-based bank said in a report released yesterday.

The bank said deposits, offshore yuan bonds (or dim sum bonds), certificate of deposits, trade settlement and other international payments as well as foreign exchange are used to measure the yuan's globalization in the index.

Local banks in Taiwan started yuan business on Wednesday and soon the island will be included in the compilation of the index. The total yuan deposits in Taiwan will reach around 100 billion (US$15.9 billion) to 150 billion yuan by the end of this year, the report said.