IMF decision could propel yuan past sterling and yen

THE Chinese currency's path to internationalisation has been stellar so far - but something may happen this year that could propel the yuan into the currency stratosphere.

The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Special Drawing Rights (SDR) - the IMF's "virtual currency" based on a basket of other currencies reviewed every five years - rarely warrant much excitement. But if the yuan gets included in 2015, alongside the US dollar, euro, pound and yen, it could boost the Chinese currency's fortunes overnight.

Due to the sheer magnitude of Chinese exports - China is the world's largest exporter of goods and services, and exports is the key determinant of the currencies' weights in the SDR basket - the yuan would go straight past the yen and the pound to make it the third highest weighted currency in the SDR. It is hard to overestimate the importance of this move to the global adoption of the yuan.