RP eyes new currency swap agreements
RP eyes new currency swap agreements
MANILA: The Philippine government is eyeing a currency swap agreement with China and South Korea to boost its dollar reserves as a precautionary measure against potential financial market shocks.
"The trend is to have bilateral talks with as many countries as we can...That's slowly being worked on," central bank Governor Rafael Buenaventura told reporters when asked about media reports of such negotiations.
Buenaventura said the arrangement with China was being targeted at around US$3 billion, almost the same with the government's swap deal with Japan made in July 2001.
Under the Japan deal, the central bank may borrow dollars in exchange for the local currency to meet huge demand for dollars.
"It is a precautionary measure. The more you have, the less likelihood of a contagion," Buenaventura said. --Reuters
India's forex reserves top $53b
BOMBAY: India's foreign exchange reserves jumped to US$53.317 billion in the week to March 22, largely due to foreign direct investment inflows and remittances from expatriate Indians, analysts and dealers said.
Data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Saturday showed foreign exchange reserves rose to the all-time high from $52.189 billion a week ago. Reserves have now risen for 26 straight weeks.
"We saw a lot of foreign direct investments pouring in during that week, most of which was mopped up by state-run banks," said Sharukh Wadia, treasury head at IndusInd Bank. pharmaceuticals sectors.
In 2002, India's foreign currency reserves have risen by about 11 percent, or around $5 billion, as foreign investments -- both portfolio and direct -- poured into the country.
These capital inflows have been key to the higher surpluses in the country's balance of payments position. --Reuters
Russia to lift ban on U.S. poultry
MOSCOW: Russia agreed on Sunday to lift a ban on poultry imports from the United States next month, removing an irritant in relations ahead of a May summit between presidents Vladimir Putin and George W. Bush.
"We are really pleased to have defused the immediate crisis," U.S. ambassador Alexander Vershbow told a news briefing.
"With the visit of President Bush just two months away, we need to start working to expand our areas of cooperation now that this obstacle appears to have been removed."
Russia slapped the ban on imports of chicken and turkey, citing concerns including salmonella contamination and the use of antibiotics in feed. -- Reuters
Pakistan repays $4.5b foreign debt
KARACHI: Pakistan, buried under $37.8 billion of foreign debt, said on Saturday it had repaid $4.5 billion of foreign debt in last two and a half years and $1.4 of it billion was expensive debt.
Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz told top business executives in southern port city of Karachi the government was trying to reduce the huge debt burden, which he called a "serious issue" for the economy.
"During the period October 12, 1999 till March 26, 2002 Pakistan repaid $4.5 billion of loans ... of which $1.4 billion was expensive, high interest rate debt," Aziz said marking the period from when General Pervez Musharraf seized power in a bloodless coup.
"In other words, 31 percent of the repayments amounted to expensive debt," he said. -- Reuters
Bangladesh calls for regional cooperation
DHAKA: Bangladesh Finance Minister M. Saifur Rahman on Saturday called for the resolving of bilateral disputes among South Asian nations and the forging of cooperation to face global competitiveness.
"If Bangladesh, Pakistan and India are in a quarrel, then how could there be any effective cooperation?" Rahman told a meeting of business leaders from SAARC countries.
The SAARC or South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, groups Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Rahman said: "We must forge cooperation among the SAARC countries in the field of trade and economy, otherwise we can not survive the globalization process." -- Reuters