New York: The World Bank is planning to sell bonds in China denominated in the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights, people familiar with the matter said.
The offering would be in China’s interbank note market, according to the people, who asked not to be identified. Issuance of the securities may be as soon as next month, one of the people said. They would be the first in SDR from the lender, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
President Xi Jinping’s efforts to promote the yuan’s international usage culminated last year when the IMF added it to its benchmark basket of reserve currencies, making it part of the Special Drawing Rights, or SDR, effective October 1, 2016. The People’s Bank of China is studying the possibility of SDR bond issuance, Governor Zhou Xiaochuan was cited as saying in a central bank statement. Zhou had said earlier this year that Chinese officials want to gradually increase use of the funding tool.
A representative for the World Bank in Washington D.C. didn’t immediately respond to an email after business hours requesting comment.
