Investors expecting the Chinese currency, the renminbi, to become freely convertible may be disappointed, according to Jim O’Neill, chief economist at Goldman Sachs.

“Maybe in 10 years’ time, China will say ‘We’ve got this far without floating the currency’ and impose a controlled foreign exchange system on the rest of the world,” said Mr O’Neill, who came up with the Bric concept, which groups Brazil, Russia, India and China on the basis that they will overtake the world’s richest economies by 2050.