Japan commits 10 tril. yen for crisis-hit Asian countries

NUSA DUA, Indonesia, May 3 Kyodo -
Japan will be ready to offer support measures worth a total of 10 trillion yen
to other Asian countries if they fall into severe difficulties amid the
deepening impact of the economic crisis, Japanese Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano
said Sunday.
Of the l0 trillion yen, Yosano said about 6 trillion yen will be provided from
its foreign reserves using a currency swap deal. Under the framework, a
crisis-hit Asian country could change the Japanese currency into U.S. dollars
or other major currencies, if necessary, to pay, for example, its external
debt.
Yosano, who is in Indonesia to attend an annual gathering of the Asian
Development Bank, said Japan will also commit $38.4 billion (about 3.8 trillion
yen) to the so-called Chiang Mai Initiative, a regional currency swap framework
formed by China, Japan, South Korea and 10 Southeast Asian countries.
In addition, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation will start providing
a guarantee of up to 500 billion yen when a country in the region issues
yen-denominated Samurai bonds, Yosano said.
Yosano unveiled these new Japanese steps to support Asia's liquidity at a news
conference after holding talks with his counterparts from China and South Korea
on Indonesia's Bali Island.
In February, the 13 countries agreed to expand the pool of the multilateral
currency swap arrangement to $120 billion from $80 billion, with China, Japan
and South Korea promising to contribute 80 percent of the amount.
China, which has the world's largest foreign reserves, will provide the same
amount as Japan to the enlarged swap arrangement and South Korea will offer
$19.2 billion, according to Japanese officials.
==Kyodo