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1st LD: IMF launches new SDR basket including China's RMB, historic milestone for China, int'l monetary system

Xinhua, October 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday announced the launch of the new Special Drawing Right (SDR) basket including the Chinese currency, the renminbi (RMB), saying it was a "historic milestone" for China, the IMF and the international monetary system.

"As of tomorrow, the renminbi will be considered by the international community as a freely usable international currency, and will join the basket of the Special Drawing Right together with the U.S. dollar, the euro, the yen and the British pound," Managing Director of the IMF Christine Lagarde announced Friday at its headquarters in Washington D.C., noting this is "the first time" in the history that the SDR basket was expanded.

"The inclusion of the renminbi in the Special Drawing Right basket will further diversify it, and will make its composition more representative of the global currencies and the global economy," "Lagarde said, hailing it a "historical milestone" for the SDR, the IMF, China and the international monetary system.

The IMF chief also said the RMB's inclusion is "an important step" in the integration of Chinese economy into the global financial and monetary system and it reflects the progress made in reforming China's monetary, foreign exchange, and financial systems.

"The continuation and deepening of these efforts, with appropriate safeguards, will bring about a more robust international monetary and financial system, which in turn will be good for the stability and growth of China and of the international economy," Lagarde said.

The SDR is an international reserve asset created by the IMF in 1969 to supplement its member countries' official reserves. It can be exchanged among governments for freely usable currencies in times of need.

Last November, the IMF decided to include the RMB in the SDR basket as a fifth currency, effective Oct. 1, 2016. Endit