World Bank bond breathes new life into SDR market

The World Bank broke a 30 year silence in special drawing rights (SDR) bonds with the sale of a SDR500m ($700m) three year note in China on Wednesday. While the Mulan bond is widely seen as a symbolic gesture to promote the internationalisation of the renminbi, market participants said it is more than that, in spite of the relatively narrow investor base. Paolo Danese and Rev Hui report.