Taiwan central bank says swap agreement with China by year end unlikely

TAIPEI: Taiwan's central bank said its deputy governor will visit China next month but it does not expect a currency swap agreement between the two central banks to be signed before the end of year.

"We have been constantly negotiating with China's central bank, but as the status of a swap is above an MOU (memorandum of understanding), its issues involved are also much more than an MOU," central banker Fai-Nan Perng told the legislative council on Monday.

Taiwan and China signed a clearing system for each other's currencies last September, kicking off the last leg of an economic integration that has drawn the sides closer and helped lift trade to more than $160 billion annually.