Asean and its three regional partners will launch a $120 billion currency swap facility on March 24 that aims to ensure sufficient U.S. dollar liquidity in the event of a financial crisis.
The new pact is an upgrade of the existing Chiang Mai Initiative, which was launched in 2000 by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus Japan, China and South Korea. That came after regional countries experienced a severe capital flight in the wake of the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis.
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