Renminbi may follow own script

There is no reason to assume China's currency will take the same path as others as it goes global

In October, the UK government became the first in the Western world to issue a sovereign bond in China's currency, the renminbi. The 3 billion yuan bond ($477 million), which will be used to finance Britain's reserves, marked a significant moment in China's efforts to internationalize the renminbi and cement its position as a future reserve currency, alongside the US dollar, euro, pound sterling, Japanese yen, Swiss franc and Canadian dollar.

It reignited the debate over whether the renminbi can eventually supplant the US dollar as the leading global reserve currency. Some analysts are forecasting a gradual transformation of the renminbi into the world's next principal reserve currency. Others contend that China's financial markets will need to undergo dramatic changes for any such power shift in the foreseeable future.