BEIJING, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- China's foreign exchange regulator on Monday announced that it has set up an office to handle trusted loans of the country's foreign exchange reserves.
The creation of the office means the nation's 3.31 trillion U.S. dollars of forex reserves can be officially loaned to domestic enterprises as commercial loans to support their overseas business expansion.
The office, named SAFE Co-Financing, will be important for creating new, innovative ways to use foreign exchange reserves that will prevent the funds from decreasing in value, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).
According to a SAFE statement, it has already issued some trusted loans from the forex reserves.
"It provides a sound foundation and environment for domestic financial institutions and forex market entities to expand their businesses and trade overseas," the statement said.
It also expands the investment scope of forex reserves and further diversifies the management of them. Meanwhile, it prioritizes risk prevention and safeguards the assets against value contraction, it said.
SAFE said the new body will operate based on market principals by respecting industry rules and market choices to promote fair play.
It did not provide details of how it will run.
China has accumulated the world's largest holding of foreign exchange reserves on the back of trade booms and cash inflows.
Extinction of river dolphin: What does it mean for the Yangtze River?