China's central bank signs currency swap agreement with Belarus

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

BEIJING, March 11 (Chinese media) -- The People's Bank of

China (PBOC),the central bank, said Wednesday it has signed a currency swap

agreement with the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus.

The agreement allows the two banks to swap 20 billion

yuan (2.9billion U.S. dollars) or 8 trillion Belarus Ruble in three years, which

could extend if both sides agreed, the central bank said in a notice on its Web

site.

The arrangement aimed to promote bilateral trade and

investment to boost the economic development of the two countries, it said.

The PBOC has signed bilateral currency swap

agreements with Malaysia and China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in

the past two months this year, totaling 280 billion yuan.