China to offer yuan loans to members of bloc

China's plan to extend yuan-denominated loans to other members in the BRICS group is a "further step" that will help internationalize the Chinese currency and boost trade among these emerging economies, experts say.

The China Development Bank will sign an agreement on yuan loans with their counterparts in the bloc that also groups Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa during the summit in India.

"China is asked to extend loans to a number of countries, including heavily indebted eurozone countries. If China were to do so, extending these loans in yuan is an excellent way to expand the use of the currency in international transactions, and would be a further useful step in the gradual internationalization of the yuan," said Vikram Nehru, a senior associate for Southeast Asian Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a think tank in Washington DC.