31% German firms use yuan: poll

German firms are yet to fully tap into the opportunities presented by the yuan, revealed a survey on Thursday.

Of the finance departments at German companies surveyed by Deutsche Bank and the trade journal Der Treasurer, one in three companies, or 31 percent of the respondents, currently use the yuan, while a further 17 percent said they plan to use the Chinese currency in the near future, according to the survey results.

"We are currently seeing that many German companies remain cautious because their Chinese business partners still prefer in many cases to issue invoices in euros or US dollars," Lothar Meenen, head of trade finance and cash management corporates at Deutsche Bank, said in a note sent to the Global Times on Thursday.

But Meenen also said "the ongoing rapid internationalization of the yuan will result in more and more German companies embracing the currency."