ASIAN NATIONS TO DOUBLE CURRENCY SWAP DEAL

19th March 2012

Japan and 12 other Asian countries will likely agree to double the amount of funds 

available under a regional currency swap pact amid uncertainty over the European debt crisis, a 

report said Sunday. 

Japan, China, South Korea and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations 

(ASEAN) are to agree to double the fund from the current $120 billion this month, Japan's 

Nikkei daily reported, citing unnamed sources. 

The currency swap deal, known as the Chiang Mai Initiative, is designed to prevent a financial 

crisis in countries with relatively small foreign exchange reserves by giving them a safety net 

against future liquidity shortages. 

Currently, up to 20 percent of the $120 billion in available funds can be used without linkage to 

loans by the International Monetary Fund. 

The so-called ASEAN+3 countries are also expected to agree to raise this percentage 

significantly to prevent the European debt crisis from causing major damage in Asia, the Nikkei 

said. 

The countries are expected to reach a broad agreement on strengthening the functions of the 

Chiang Mai Initiative at a meeting of senior finance officials in Cambodia at the end of this 

month, it said. 

The agreement is expected to be finalised in May at a meeting of finance ministers and central 

bank governors from the ASEAN+3 countries, it said.