South Korea, China agree to extend swap facility to 2017

SEOUL

An employee from the Bank of Korea moves stacks of Korean won for delivery to commercial banks at the Bank of Korea's headquarters in Seoul February 5, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Kim Hong-Ji

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(Reuters) - South Korea and China agreed to extend an existing swap agreement worth 64 trillion Korean won or 360 billion yuan by three more years, the Bank of Korea said in a statement on Saturday.
The decision to extend the bilateral agreement to Oct. 10, 2017 was made to boost trade between the two countries and is expected to contribute to financial stability, the South Korean central bank said.
The swap facility, which was initially signed by
the two countries in 2011, had been doubled from an original swap line of 180 billion yuan launched in 2008. It can be extended again if both parties agree to it.
Saturday's agreement was signed by Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol and the governor of the People's Bank of China, Zhou Xiaochuan in Washington D.C. earlier in the day on the sidelines of a series of international meetings being held there.
South Korea has a total of $80.6 billion worth of non-dollar swap agreements in place with a number of countries, including Australia, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates.
(Reporting by Christine Kim; Editing by Toby Chopra)