The yuan strengthened the most in a month as China's efforts to free up its domestic markets to global investors spurred speculation the currency will advance.

Now is a good time to open up the capital account to speed up the internationalization of the yuan, the Financial News reported today, citing Xu Zhong, deputy director of the financial markets department of the People's Bank of China. China will work to accelerate approvals of qualified foreign institutional investors looking to buy local securities, according to a statement on the State Administration of Foreign Exchange's website yesterday.

"China is trying to take advantage of a more stable currency and more balanced external position to allow the portfolio flows," said Dariusz Kowalczyk, a strategist at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong. "It will also try to bring in more foreign capital, via bonds and stocks, to support its slowing economy, and to make more of an effort to encourage foreign central banks to buy the yuan."