The South African Reserve Bank and the People’s Bank of China have renewed their bilateral currency swap agreement for five years, the Reserve Bank said on 30 October 2026. It took effect on 23 October.
The agreement lets the two central banks exchange their local currencies up to CNY30 billion, which the Reserve Bank put at R74 billion. That is about R2.47 to the yuan, the rate implied by the bank’s own figures.
The Reserve Bank gave two purposes: to support trade and direct investment between South Africa and China, and to act against short-term balance of payments pressures. Interest on any rand funds used is referenced to the South African Rand Overnight Index Average, known as ZARONIA.
The limit has not changed in yuan
The two banks signed their first swap agreement in April 2015. It ran for three years and carried the same limit of CNY30 billion, which the Reserve Bank then put at about R57 billion.
The term is longer: five years now against three then. The yuan limit is unchanged. The rand figure is R17 billion higher, because the rand converts at a weaker rate against the yuan than it did in 2015, according to the two conversions the bank published.
Source: South African Reserve Bank media releases, 10 April 2015 and 30 October 2026. Chart: Rand Desk
The Reserve Bank said in 2015 that the arrangement came in the context of rapidly growing trade and investment between South Africa and China, and between China and the rest of the continent. The 2026 release gives no trade figures.
The 2013 bond agreement
The 2026 release says the renewal builds on a 2013 agreement that allows the Reserve Bank to invest in China’s onshore bond market. The 2015 release described the swap in the same terms, as following that 2013 agreement.
For context on the trade side, our report on China’s third-quarter growth and South African exports covers the latest figures from China’s statistics bureau.
What the releases leave out
Neither release says how much of the line has been drawn, if any. The 2026 release does not say what happened to the agreement between its first term ending in 2018 and this renewal, or what interest rate applies on the yuan side.
Both full releases are on the Reserve Bank’s media release pages, linked in the sources above. Our other markets and rand stories cover the currency itself, including the daily Reserve Bank rates. The renewed agreement runs for five years from 23 October 2026, which takes it to October 2031.
