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Central bank to set up exchange rate department

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-08-02 14:55

The People's Bank of China (PBOC, or the central bank) will create a new department to manage exchange rate reform and monitor cross-border short-term capital flows, the China Securities Journal reported on Friday, quoting an unidentified PBOC official.

The short-term flows, commonly known as "hot money," are believed to be entering China in huge quantities and exacerbated inflationary pressure.

The official said the new department would probably be set up using the Exchange Rate Policy Division of the Monetary Policy Department as a basis.

Wang Yu, deputy director of the Monetary Policy Department, might head the new department, according to the official, who added that details were not yet ready to be made public.

It was necessary to beef up research and management of the supervision of exchange rate policy because of its increasingly significant role in China's economy, said Guo Tianyong, professor of the Beijing-based Central University of Finance and Economics.

China launched its exchange rate reform in 2005 when it de-pegged the renminbi from the US dollar. The 2005 move aimed to keep the exchange rate reasonable, balanced and steady. The local currency has appreciated more than 21 percent against the US dollar since then.