UPDATE 1-China's yuan joins elite club of IMF reserve currencies
Friday September 30, 2016 22:30
(Adds China central bank statement, details on IMF fixing currency amounts)
BEIJING, Oct 1 (Reuters) - China's yuan joins the International Monetary Fund's basket of reserve currencies on Saturday in a milestone for the government's campaign for recognition as a global economic power.
The yuan joins the U.S. dollar, the euro, the yen and British pound in the IMF's special drawing rights (SDR) basket, which determines currencies that countries can receive as part of IMF loans. It marks the first time a new currency has been added since the euro was launched in 1999.
The IMF is adding the yuan, also known as the renminbi, or "people's money", on the same day that the Communist Party celebrates the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.