Top finance officials of a block of nations and regions in east and southeast Asia signed the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM) to address the short-term currency liquidity, China's central bank said on its website on Monday.

The agreement was signed by the finance ministers and central bank governors of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ASEAN+3), as well as the Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief.

The signatory nations and regions reached in May the agreement on all main components of a US$120-billion regional reserve pool to provide emergency liquidity for countries and regions in financial crisis.

(Xinhua News Agency December 28, 2009)