The central banks of China and Malaysia signed a US$1.5 billion currency swap agreement Wednesday , a further cooperative effort to ensure financial stability in the region.
The agreement states that the People's Bank of China (PBOC) will lend US$1.5 billion to the Bank Negara Malaysia in the event of payment difficulties to complement financial assistance provided by international financial institutions.
PBOC Governor Dai Xianglong said the deal reflects the Chinese Government's serious implementation of the multilateral 2000 Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI) and marks substantial progress in bilateral financial co-operation with Malaysia.
The pact signed yesterday was forged under the umbrella of the CMI, which aims to build closer monetary ties by creating a network of central bank currency swaps among the Association of South East Asian Nations plus China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ASEAN+3).
(China Daily October 10, 2002)
