HANOI, (VNA) -Japan on May 5 proposed a new type bilateral currency swap agreement, worth 40 billion USD, to the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to tackle short-time liquidity difficulties during crisis time, Japanese Kyodo News Agency reported.
The proposal was offered at a meeting between the finance ministers and central banks governors of Japan and ASEAN on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Yokohama, Japan.
According to a joint statement released after the meeting, countries in the regional bloc are able to withdraw yen funds under existing bilateral currency swap agreements.
The statement also said facilitating the fund of yen in the ASEAN countries will contribute to further regional financial stability.
Both sides also agreed on boosting financial and economic cooperation.
Within the meeting, Japan signed a bilateral currency swap deal with Thailand and reached a basic agreement to sign a similar pact with Malaysia.
Japan has also had bilateral currency swap pacts with some ASEAN countries to provide US dollars in exchange for their currencies. US dollars and Japanese yen are considered to be able to meet high demand during changes of markets.
