Russia’s central bank said on Tuesday that it was launching a new Chinese yuan currency swap instrument as the volume of transactions between the rouble and yuan continues to grow.
As direct payments in national currencies between Russian and Chinese companies are expanding actively, the volume of yuan-ruble currency swaps and their importance for other financial market segments increases essentially. The new instrument is intended to limit the volatility of money market rates in the event of temporary imbalances.
The daily maximum limit for this instrument will be ten billion yuan with an effect from 19 January 2023. The Bank of Russia will adjust the limit, if necessary.
The transactions will be made in on-exchange trading of the Moscow Exchange as open-trading transactions on business days. The swap points will be calculated using O/N SHIBOR (Overnight Shanghai Interbank Offered Rate) plus 2.5 percentage points as the interest rate for yuan and the Bank of Russia key rate minus 1 percentage point as that for rubles, CBR says in its statement.
