The Republic of Korea (RoK), Japan and China have agreed to launch a 700-million-USD regional credit fund in a bid to help develop bond markets in Asia.
The RoK Ministry of Finance said in a statement that finance ministers from the three countries had agreed on the fund at a meeting on the sidelines of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) annual meeting in Tashkent , Uzbekistan on May 1.
The fund dubbed “Credit Guarantee and Investment Facility” will provide "the core infrastructure for the development of bond markets in Asia," said the ministry.
Japan and China will each contribute 200 million USD to the fund, while RoK will offer 100 million USD, it said.
The rest will be made up by the ADB and the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN), which will donate 130 million USD and 70 million USD, respectively.
According to the ministry, the finance ministers also agreed to continue their "effective" policy coordination for other international economic forums.
In March, the three countries and ASEAN launched a 120-billion-USD currency-swap agreement aimed at helping Asian economies better cope with a possible liquidity crisis./.