Singapore, March 8th 2013 - The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today announced the establishment of a new and enhanced bilateral currency swap arrangement to promote bilateral trade and direct investment for the economic development of the two countries. The new agreement was signed on 7 March 2013 and will replace the old swap arrangement dated 23 July 2010, which is expiring this year.

2. The new bilateral currency swap arrangement reinforces the co-operation between PBC and MAS to strengthen economic ties and foster financial stability. The enhancements double the size of the swap facility and enable both central banks to provide foreign currency liquidity to stabilise financial markets. Under the new arrangement, up to CNY300 billion in Chinese Yuan liquidity will be available to eligible financial institutions operating in Singapore. Correspondingly, up to SGD60 billion in Singapore dollar liquidity will be available to eligible financial institutions operating in China. The effective period of the arrangement will be three years and can be extended by agreement between the two sides.

Re-disseminated by The Asian Banker