Argentina and China renewed their currency swap line today for US$ 19 billion over the next three years, a US$ 1 billion increase on the current deal, which will go directly to bolster the country’s reserves. However, they explained that it uses two interest rates as reference, the Shibor rate and the IMF rate. The agreement was signed by Argentine Central Bank President Miguel Pesce and his Chinese counterpart, Yi Gang, with Argentine Economic Minister Sergio Massa also present. The previous currency swap deal, which had been agreed upon in 2020, was set to expire in August. Until now, Chinese companies had to use intermediates such as purchasing dollars with the Chinese currency or through financial dollar rates like the blue chip swap rate.

Source: Bueno Aires Herald June 02, 2023 15:31 UTC