Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia may benefit from the International Monetary Funds (IMFs) decision to include the Chinese yuan in its basket of currencies which make up its Special Drawing Right (SDR), according to Bank Indonesia.

"We warmly welcome the IMFs decision to include yuan in the Special Drawing Right. The decision will have a positive impact on the performance of our trade, particularly with China," Bank Indonesia Governor Agus Martowardojo said here on Tuesday.

He said Indonesias imports from China are currently valued at US$30 billion, while its exports to the worlds second largest economy have reached US$14-15 billion.

In the future, Indonesias exports to and imports from China can use yuan. "Of course, this will benefit Indonesia," he said.

However, he added that trade between the two countries could not use yuan all too soon as China still has to familiarize its people with the yuan-denominated trade.

With the inclusion of yuan in the SDR basket, countries in the world will have more choices to use currencies to conduct transactions and make investment, he said.

"In general, we warmly welcome the inclusion of yuan in the SDR basket. What is more, we have included yuan in our foreign exchange reserves already," he said.

At present, the SDR basket includes the US dollar, euro, yen and pound sterling. Following the IMFs decision, this basket will also include yuan from October 1, 2016 onwards.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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