KUALA LUMPUR (May 13): Malaysia’s central bank said on Monday that it has signed an agreement with its South Korean counterpart to extend a bilateral swap arrangement by another three years.

The size of this arrangement is maintained at RM15 billion or five trillion Korean won, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) said in a statement. The swap arrangement can be extended by mutual agreement between the two central banks, the statement noted.

The swap agreement — which allows both parties to exchange their local currencies to boost their use in trade and investment — is aimed at further promoting bilateral trade and strengthening the financial cooperation between the two countries, it added.

Apart from South Korea, Malaysia has swap agreements with its biggest trading partners and major neighbours including China, Japan, Indonesia and Thailand.