China's central bank has signed a currency swap deal worth CNY 35 billion or QAR 20.8 billion (USD 5.7 billion), with its Qatari counterpart, it was announced here on Monday.
The swap agreement is valid for three years and could be extended by mutual consent, the People's Bank of China said in a statement posted on its Website.
Also on Monday, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding to establish Renminbi clearing arrangements in the Qatari capital of Doha. They also agreed to expand the Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (RQFII) scheme to Qatar, with an initial investment quota of CNY 30 billion (USD 4.9 billion), the statement said.
The deals mark a new step forward in financial cooperation between the two countries, conducive to companies and financial institutions of the two countries to use the Renminbi cross-border trade, facilitate bilateral trade and investment and, maintain regional financial stability, the Chinese central bank said.