Nearly two years since the yuan joined the International Monetary Fund's Special Drawing Rights basket, where is internationalization going? CGTN reporter Mao Dan spoke with one expert and got a progress report.  

Looking back at China's bid to include the Renminbi in the IMF's Special Drawing Rights basket, Du Yang, an Associate at the University of Cambridge's Moller Institute, says the process was difficult.

DU YANG MOLLER INSTITUTE, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE "It was deemed as premature for the RMB to join the IMF's SDR basket. Not just some economists or critics held such views. In the past, the RMB was rejected, once in 2010. Finally, it made its way into the SDR basket. We congratulate the RMB, however, there are still many items that need to be accomplished in the coming years."

Among the currency's future challenges, Du says marketization of the renminbi is a major hurdle.

DU YANG MOLLER INSTITUTE, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE "The SDR is not the final destination of RMB internationalization. It very much depends on who wants to hold your currency, and what they want to do with it. This is more critical than simply having one ticket entering the IMF's basket. At the moment, the overall asset allocation is just about 3-5% from any international investor's portfolio. If you take a look at the largest pension fund, the largest sovereign fund, the RMB investment is still marginal."

To remedy the situation, Du believes there should be more Renminbi-denominated assets available in the international market. In the meantime, educating market investors is paramount, where Hong Kong could play a larger role with experience gained as the very first Renminbi offshore center.

DU YANG MOLLER INSTITUTE, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE "Hong Kong played a very critical role at the very beginning stage, and then the RMB started internationalization in Europe, North America, the Middle East, the UK and in many of the key financial hubs. This is very significant to RMB and also important to HK because the HK model was reasonably copied and learned by foreign governments."

MAO DAN HONG KONG "Today, Hong Kong still has much to offer as an Offshore Renminbi Business Centre, with attractive initiatives like connect schemes, and mutual fund recognition. Both are ways to facilitate Renminbi marketization. But Hong Kong also may need to look at high-tech and innovative ways to team up with other offshore centers in the drive to internationalize the Renminbi. Mao Dan, CGTN, Hong Kong."