UPDATE - Turkish Central Bank renews currency swap deal with Chinese People's Bank

UPDATES WITH ADDITIONAL AGREEMENT

By Mucahithan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) – The Turkish Central Bank announced Friday that it had renewed a Turkish lira-Chinese yuan bilateral swap arrangement with the People's Bank of China.

Turkish Central Bank Governor Fatih Karahan and People's Bank Governor Pan Gongsheng signed the arrangement, said an official statement.

"The swap arrangement allows for the exchange of local currencies between the two central banks of up to TRY (lira) 189 billion or CNY (yuan) 35 billion, reflecting recent TRY/CNY exchange rates," said the Turkish bank statement.

The deal will be effective for three years and can be extended by mutual agreement between the two sides.

The statement said the arrangement is designed to promote bilateral trade through a swap-financed trade settlement facility and financial cooperation between the two countries.

"The two sides expect that this arrangement will further strengthen collaboration between the two central banks," it noted.

**** Additionally, in a separate statement, the Turkish Central Bank also announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding on establishing a renminbi (yuan) clearing arrangements which would help facilitate bilateral trade and investment.