IMF to complete assessment of RMB for SDRs by yearend: Lagarde

LIMA - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will complete an assessment of the Chinese yuan's possible status as a new currency for Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), said IMF chief Christine Lagarde on Friday.

"Before the end of 2015, the IMF will complete a technical assessment. This is nearly completed and recommendations are being finalized," she said.

The IMF will decide whether to add the renminbi to this basket for five years (2016-2021). But even if the RMB is given the green light, the addition would not happen until September 2016.

"The review will determine implementation from September 2016 to allow time for central banks to adjust, including their computers," said Lagarde.

The SDRs, an international reserve asset created in 1969 to supplement its members' existing official reserves, consists of the US dollar, the euro, the pound and the yen.

Although SDRs cannot purchase goods or services directly, they can be exchanged for hard currency between IMF members.

Zhu Min, deputy managing director of the IMF, said Thursday that adding the RMB to the SDR basket would be an important implication concerning the status of the RMB in the global community.

"If the RMB makes it into the SDR basket, it will become a global currency in the real sense, marking the first time the IMF accepts the currency of an emerging economy into its currency reserves," Zhu added.