China will extend onshore yuan trading hours starting January 3, as the government pushes ahead with plans to internationalize the currency, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) announced Friday.

Onshore yuan trading will close at 3 a.m. (Beijing Time) the next day, rather than the previous time of 11:30 p.m., the central bank said. The opening time will remain at 9:30 a.m.

The PBOC pledged to extend trading hours after the International Monetary Fund in May increased the yuan's weighting in the Special Drawing Rights currency basket, an international reserve asset that can be converted into five different currencies. The move will further open up China's financial markets.