China, Indonesia sign currency swap deal

An employee counts Chinese one-hundred yuan banknotes at the Bank of China Hong Kong Ltd headquarters in Hong Kong. [Photo/VCG]

BEIJING - China's central bank said Monday that it had signed a bilateral currency swap agreement with its counterpart in Indonesia.

The agreement will allow the two sides to swap a total of 200 billion yuan ($28.8 billion) for 440 trillion Indonesian rupiah, and vice versa, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said.

The move is aimed at facilitating bilateral trade and investment, and maintaining financial market stability, according to the PBOC.

The agreement will be valid for three years and can be extended by mutual consent.

A currency swap deal allows two institutions to exchange payments in one currency for equivalent amounts in the other to facilitate bilateral trade settlements and provide liquidity support to financial markets.