How about a Chinese bank account? "We're perfectly happy eating in a Chinese restaurant. But will we start banking in a Chinese bank? It's not as crazy as it sounds ' the Bank of China ' in the US has started allowing American customers to open an account and to invest up to $4000 a day and a total of $20,000 a year in Chinese yuan, or renminbi ' Is this a good idea? ' Investing in Chinese currency may sound like something best left to speculators. But in reality this may be no more exotic than, say, Peking duck. Holding some of your money in Chinese currency ' might be a very sensible move for all of us. Why? Five reasons: First, it's very unlikely to go down. Of how many investments can you say that? The yuan has very little room to fall further because it is already seriously undervalued. Second, it's very likely to go up. China is growing rapidly, is a manufacturing powerhouse and is running an enormous trade surplus. Countries like that usually have very strong currencies ' And these days, a rising yuan may be in Beijing's interest. China no longer has the same need for such an artificially cheap currency. After all, the plan worked: It has now taken over a vast amount of manufacturing from the US. And it's moved up from making socks and toys to iPads and now stealth bombers ' The third reason for holding some money in yuan: What else are you going to do with it? Interest rates elsewhere are minimal, so you won't be missing out on much. Fourth, it makes you more diversified. Fifth: It may help you offset the costs of US economic decline. Our share of the world economy, which was 24% a decade ago, is this year expected to sink below 20%, the lowest figure in modern times. We are running a current account deficit of 3.5% of gross domestic product. Our national debt has nearly tripled in a decade, and deficits stretch out as far as the eye can see. Will the greenback survive as the world's reserve currency? Why should it? The British pound didn't '" (SmartMoney, January 14, 2011)
I wonder if this still applies in 2013?