China, Malaysia renew currency swap agreement with expanded scale

BEIJING, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- The People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, said on Friday that it has renewed and expanded a bilateral currency swap agreement with its Malaysian counterpart, the Bank Negara Malaysia.

The swap amount is increased from 180 billion yuan (about 26.5 billion U.S. dollars), equivalent to 110 billion ringgit, to 220 billion yuan, which is equivalent to 130 billion ringgit, according to the PBOC.

The agreement is valid for five years and can be extended upon mutual consent, the PBOC noted.

The renewal and expansion of this bilateral currency swap agreement will help further deepen monetary and financial cooperation between the two countries, expand the use of local currencies in bilateral transactions, facilitate bilateral trade and investment, and safeguard financial market stability, the PBOC added.