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Roundup: Lithuania's central bank strengthens ties with China

Xinhua, June 13, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Bank of Lithuania signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) on Friday, expanding its interests in China.

According to an announcement from Lithuania's central bank, the memorandum is aimed to enhance cooperation with Chinese financial sector's supervisory authorities and share supervisory information.

Ingrida Simonyte, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania, who signed the document, highlighted growing interest in the European Union's financial sector from Chinese investors.

"Thus, we hope that this memorandum of understanding will encourage interest in Lithuania, assist in developing mutually beneficial bilateral economic ties," Simonyte said in the press release.

Wang Zhaoxing, Vice Chairman of the CBRC, signed the memorandum on behalf of the Chinese supervisory authority.

"The signing of the memorandum of understanding lays solid foundation for improving cross-border cooperation between the CBRC and the Bank of Lithuania," he was quoted in the press release.

In his words, cooperation is to be improved by "enhancing information sharing and supervision collaboration on crisis management, and thereby promoting the bilateral banking business exchange and cooperation."

The memorandum marks another step in developing cooperation between Lithuanian and Chinese financial supervisory authorities.

In September 2013, Lithuania's financial institutions gained direct access to Chinese capital market after cooperation agreement between the Bank of Lithuania and China's Securities Regulatory Commission.

After more than a year Lithuania's central bank pioneered its way to the Chinese capital market by making its first investment in China's securities. The bank used the whole quota of 100 million U.S. dollars and invested into Chinese short term government bonds.

According to Lithuania's central bankers, investments into Chinese securities amounted to more than 1 percent of official international reserves of Bank of Lithuania at that time.

Lithuania's central bank was one of the first members of the European System of Central Banks that invested in China and was the first in obtaining the status of qualified foreign institutional investor in China. Endit