Japan to set up additional $61.5 bln scheme for Asia

NUSA DUA, Indonesia (Reuters) - Japan will establish a scheme to supply up to about 6 trillion yen ($61.54 billion) to Asian nations in the event of a financial crisis, Finance Mininster Kaoru Yosano said on Sunday.

The yen swap plan will be in addition to Japan's $38.4 billion contribution to a $120 billion regional liquidity fund.

Both measures are aimed at supporting the region's economies in a crisis, Yosano told reporters on the sidelines of the Asian Development Bank's annual meeting in Indonesia.

"This brings our contribution to supporting regional liquidity to about $100 billion," Yosano said.

Japan hopes the yen scheme will also promote the use of the currency in the region, business daily Nikkei reported.

Yosano spoke to reporters following a meeting with the finance ministers of South Korea and China. The three countries on Sunday finalised details of the $120 billion liquidity fund of 13 Asian nations.

South Korean Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun told reporters China and Japan will each contribute 32 percent of the fund, while South Korea will provide 16 percent.

The rest will come from the 10 ASEAN members -- Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Singapore.

In addition to the two initiatives, Yosano said Japan will introduce a framework to guarantee samurai bonds, yen-denominated debt issued in Japan by foreign governments and firms, up to 500 billion yen ($5.13 billion).

Asian finance ministers agreed in February to enlarge a multilateral swap pool under the so-called Chiang Mai Initiative to $120 billion from $80 billion proposed last year to help defend their currencies from the fallout of the global economic crisis.