The IMF today is including the renminbi as a global reserve currency.
The International Monetary Fund will today usher China's renminbi into the elite club of currencies that make up the organizations basic unit of exchange. While being a component of the IMF's Special Drawing Rights move is a political plum for Beijing, it won't drive the internationalization of Chinese financial markets, which will turn on China's willingness to allow foreigners to invest in its largely insulated bond market.
The IMFs top governing body is set to approve the inclusion of the Chinese currency into the unit of exchange, which the IMF uses to track its own reserves and holdings of its members, and is sometimes used by members for their own transactions. Over the past year, Beijing had pushed strongly for the change, which nominally puts it in the same category as the U.S. dollar, the British pound, the Japanese yen, and the euro.
The near-term effects will be the increased prestige and standing of the Chinese economy and the recognition that China has become more closely integrated into the global economy, said Bill Witherell, chief global economist at Cumberland Advisors.
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http://www.ibtimes.com/chinas-renminbi-joining-imfs-elite-currency-club-2203365It's a little baffling to me how a centrally manipulated currency that pegs its value to other global reserve currencies could itself become a global reserve currency, but there you have it!