SDR

The question about whether the renminbi will be included the IMF Special Drawing Rights basket of currencies has already been decided. At least that’s the view from industry experts who are preparing for life after the RMB becomes a reserve currency.

The global financial crisis has accelerated the transition to a multipolar and multi-currency system, with the RMB being one if its new components, according to former Bank of Pakistan governor Yaseen Anwar, now a consultant for ICBC.

The days of the renminbi as a stable currency with high investment yields are gone, but this is good in the long run for banks that want to have a healthier CNH balance sheet, says Andrew Fung, executive director and head of global banking and markets at Hang Seng Bank.

The People’s Bank of China announced just ahead of the Chinese national holiday of October 1 that it would allow foreign central banks, sovereign wealth funds and international financial organisations to trade in the onshore foreign exchange (FX) markets.

Renewed confidence about CNY inclusion in the IMF's SDR has supported offered side interest in short-end CNY NDIRS today. A preference for the 3-year tenor has flattened the 1s/3s curve slope, writes Deirdre Yeung of Total Derivatives.

China’s Ministry of Finance is gearing up to issue three month government bonds every week starting from next month as part of its efforts to get the renminbi into IMF's Special Drawing rights (SDR) basket, according to several sources close to the matter.

The IMF board of directors approved on August 11 a suggestion by IMF staff to extend the current composition of the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) facility to September 2016, the IMF said in an August 19 statement. The timeline for a decision on the possible inclusion of the RMB, however, remains unchanged, with the board set to meet in November.

A second day of weakening in the People's Bank of China (PBoC) fixing of the onshore renminbi (CNY) by 1.6% on August 12 saw analysts divided between seeing the new fixing system as a positive step for the reform agenda while also warning that sharp and rapid depreciation of the RMB did not bode well for the currency's global appeal.

The People's Bank of China (PBoC) has changed its daily exchange rate fixing methodology to make it more related to market levels, in a move that analysts saw as helping the renminbi's case for inclusion in the International Monetary Fund's SDR basket.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) should take into consideration renminbi transactions involving Hong Kong when assessing the currency's international usage, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has told GlobalRMB. The current treatment excludes such flows, but even partial inclusion could tip the scales for the RMB's eligibility for the IMF's Special Drawing Rights (SDR).

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has not announced any delay to its decision on whether to include the renminbi in its Special Drawing Rights (SDR) facility. Is that clear enough for everyone?

Recommendations on foreign exchange and interest rate reform in China were at the heart of this week's International Monetary Fund's interim report on its Special Drawing Rights (SDR) review, despite the market's more immediate focus on the report's suggestion that addition of the renminbi to the SDR could involve a nine-month preparation period after any decision later this year.