New | Beijing skittish, but market hot for Renminbi’s bid to join IMF’s SDR basket
Is Beijing playing it too safe by listing an SDR inclusion as a target for the next five years?
While some of the world’s biggest banks and fund managers believe the renminbi is almost a shoe in to get into the International Monetary Fund’s elite currency basket this year, Beijing doesn’t seem to feel that inclusion is in the bag.
In the detailed 13th five-year plan released this week after the ruling Communist Party plenum, a brief line caught the attention of Raymond Yeung, senior economist at ANZ.
In the all-encompassing blueprint spanning the next five years, “pushing for the renminbi to join the Special Drawing Rights” has been engraved. Such a goal was not carved into the 12th five-year plan.
“This shows that not even at the top government level is there firm confidence for an inclusion at the review this month. Otherwise, why would they list it as a working item for the next five years?” Yeung said.
The government confession of doubt, albeit crafted in a nuanced manner, stands in stark contrast with the widespread sanguine attitude of the market.