IMF chief favours bigger role for SDR

BEIJING Nov 16 (Reuters) - The head of the IMF said on Monday that he liked the idea of eventually using a basket of currencies to denominate trade and backed a bigger role for the Special Drawing Right.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, told a student audience in Beijing that the idea of building up the role of the SDR, a basket of four major currencies, over the next 10-15 years was a good one.

Chinese central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan proposed in March a beefed-up role for the SDR, now used only as the IMF's in-house unit of account, saying it could eventually replace the dollar as the dominant global reserve currency. (Reporting by Simon Rabinovitch; Writing by Alan Wheatley; Editing by Andy Bruce)