On November 30, China reached a new milestone in its ongoing internationalization efforts when it was announced by the IMF that the RMB was approved to join Special Drawing Rights basket. The inclusion of the Chinese currency will not only help China’s financial reforms but the evolution of the international financial system, according to Zhang Tao, the new Deputy Managing Director of the IMF.
Rani Jarkas, Chairman of Cedrus Investments, an investment pioneer with years of financial experience in Asia, said, “As expected with our recent forecast, this is the start of major internationalization of the RMB. Yuan will compete strongly with all other currencies to eventually become a major currency and contribute greatly to the global monetary system.”
Data from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications show the yuan is the second-largest trade financing currency, and the fourth- or fifth-largest trade payment currency. And the yuan’s proportion in global trade is 8%, and in global trade payment nearly 2%.
Statistics from the Bank for International Settlements show the yuan’s share in global foreign exchange trade has doubled in three years, from 2% to 4%. And its share as a global reserve currency is slightly more than 1%.