East Asian and Oceanian central banks are set to launch by as early as the end of the year a fund that will invest in Asian currency-denominated government bonds, international financial sources said Wednesday.
It will be the second fund established by the 11-member Executives' Meeting of East Asia-Pacific Central Banks to foster local bond markets in the region, the sources said.
The second Asian Bond Fund will pool at least $1 billion in foreign reserves of the economies in the region, and will be marked to be the first to invest in local currency-denominated bonds issued by Asian governments or state enterprises, they said.