Hong Kong’s offshore renminbi business will benefit if the International Monetary Fund decides to include the yuan in its basket of reserve currencies.

Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Professor KC Chan made the statement to the media today, saying the eventual inclusion of the renminbi in the IMF’s Special Drawing Right will be a very important milestone in the currency’s internationalisation process, as it means more acceptance of the RMB as a trading and investment currency.

Prof Chan said including the RMB in the SDR basket will increase demand for RMB offshore products here which will boost development of Hong Kong’s offshore RMB market.