The reserve bank of Australia turned a few heads last month when it announced that it planned to invest 5 percent of its reserves, or nearly $2 billion, in Chinese yuan. The RBA isn't the first central bank to add exposure to the renminbi, as the people's currency is called, but it's a bold move to put so much money into a currency that isn't freely convertible, and to do it so publicly. These days boldness is in good supply Down Under. A brash, open culture combined with a commodity-fueled economic boom now in its 22nd year has fostered a climate in which people are willing to break with convention and do big things. A case in point is Australia's Future Fund.
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