John Fellows' Blog

(Mossack Fonseca) - On November 30, 2015, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) admitted China’s renminbi (RMB), also known as the Yuan, into the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket of currencies. Effective October 1, 2016 the RMB will be a freely usable currency and will be included in the SDR basket as a fifth currency, along with the U.S. dollar, the euro, the Japanese yen and the British pound. Launching the new SDR basket on October 1, 2016 will provide sufficient lead time for the Fund, its members and other SDR users to adjust to the change, according to an IMF press release.

The following weights have been established for each of the five currencies in the new SDR basket that will take effect on October 1, 2016:

• U.S. dollar 41.73 percent (compared with 41.9 percent at the 2010 Review)
• Euro 30.93 percent (compared with 37.4 percent at the 2010 Review)
• Chinese renminbi 10.92 percent
• Japanese yen 8.33 percent (compared with 9.4 percent at the 2010 Review)
• Pound sterling 8.09 percent (compared with 11.3 percent at the 2010 Review)

The Role of the SDR

The SDR was created by the IMF in 1969 as a supplementary international reserve asset, in the context of the Bretton Woods fixed exchange rate system. The SDR is neither a currency, nor a claim on the IMF. Rather, it is a potential claim on the freely usable currencies of IMF members. Holders of SDRs can obtain these currencies in exchange for their SDRs in two ways: first, through the arrangement of voluntary exchanges between members; and second, by the IMF designating members with strong external positions to purchase SDRs from members with weak external positions. In addition to its role as a supplementary reserve asset, the SDR serves as the unit of account of the IMF and some other international organizations.

The SDR interest rate provides the basis for calculating the interest charged to borrowing members, and the interest paid to members for the use of their resources for regular (non-concessional) IMF loans. It is also the interest paid to members on their SDR holdings and charged on their SDR allocation. The SDR interest rate is determined weekly and is based on a weighted average of representative interest rates on short-term debt instruments in the money markets of the SDR basket currencies.

Why the IMF Added the Renminbi

China is the second largest economy after the United States and is first in world trade. The renminbi is the No. 4 currency for global trade, accounting for about 2.5 percent of the total, according to SWIFT, the organization for interbank financial transfers. Beijing controls the flow of money into and out of its economy but has encouraged the use of the renminbi abroad, especially for trade, which helps Chinese exporters by eliminating the cost and risk of volatile ex...

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