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The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced today (December 1) that the IMF Executive Board decided at its meeting on November 30 to include the Renminbi (RMB) in the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) welcomes the IMF's decision.
"The IMF's decision confirms that RMB is a freely usable currency and also enhances the representativeness of the SDR. It marks a key milestone in RMB internationalisation. Being the largest offshore RMB business centre with close economic and trade ties with Mainland China, Hong Kong should seize this historic opportunity and continue to strengthen our financial market infrastructure, as well as upgrading our talent pool and products. I believe Hong Kong can continue to play a pivotal role of bridgehead and financial hub in the process of Mainland's further opening up its financial markets and RMB internationalisation", said the Chief Executive of the HKMA, Mr Norman Chan.
The SDR is an international reserve asset created by the IMF. Its value is based on a weighted average of the value of a basket of currencies, currently comprising the US dollar, euro, pound sterling and Japanese yen. The IMF Executive Board reviews the composition of the SDR basket every five years to ensure that it reflects the relative importance of currencies in the world's trading and financial systems. At its Executive Board meeting held on November 30, the IMF decides to include RMB in the SDR basket. The new SDR basket will be effective from October 1, 2016.
Ends/Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Issued at HKT 10:33
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