TOKYO: Eleven central banks in East Asia and Oceania, including the Bank of Japan, will jointly establish a fund of about US$2bil to invest in government and other public bonds denominated in local currencies starting early next year, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The aim was to nurture the growth of Asia's bond market, which is lagging behind its US and European counterparts, it said, adding that the fund would also be designed to prevent a recurrence of the East Asian financial crisis that erupted in 1997.