In the news: RMB joins the IMF club, Chinese accounting aligns with IFRS and China boosts legal ties with Africa

December 01, 2015 | BY

Katherine Jo &clp articles

The IMF accepted the renminbi as a reserve currency, the Ministry of Finance signed an MOU with the IFRS Foundation and the China-Africa Joint Arbitration Centre was launched

The IMF will add the yuan to its basket of reserve currencies, an international stamp of approval of the measures China has taken to integrate into a global economic system that has been dominated for decades by the U.S., Europe and Japan. The renminbi will have a 10.92% weighting in the basket, said the IMF. That compares with 41.73% for the U.S. dollar, 30.93% for the euro, 8.33% for the Japanese yen and 8.09% for the British pound. This is a huge victory for China, which has been making a concentrated effort to dilute the U.S. dollar's hegemony in global trade and finance. It is also an issue of prestige and supports China's ambitions of taking its place alongside the world's great powers. The IMF's approval means that the nation will have to open its capital account further, and that President Xi Jinping will push ahead with reforms. The breakneck pace of changes will mean more tweaks to regulations and laws, and more work for the legal community.

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