Van Eck Global, the New York-based asset manager, has launched a new exchange traded fund that offers investors exposure to Renminbi-denominated bonds.

Market Vectors Renminbi Bond ETF, the new fund, tracks the price and yield performance of the Market Vectors Renminbi Bond Index, which is designed to monitor the performance of RMB-denominated investment-grade bonds or unrated bonds from investment-grade issuers in and outside of China. 

"The world is transitioning from a period of US dollar dominance to an era of currency blocs that better reflect the dispersion of economic growth. Certainly, the renminbi will be one of those currency blocs and China has taken significant steps to internationalize the RMB over the past two years," said Jan Van Eck, a principal at the firm. 

This is not the first time Van Eck Global dabbled into RMB funds in the country. In 2008, the firm distributed the first US-listed Chinese currency exchange-traded note which offered indirect exposure to Chinese currency. In 2010, the company introduced a US-listed ETF designed to track an index of China A-Shares. It also recently opened an office in Shanghai.