BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The People's Bank of China (PBOC) and the Central Bank of Egypt have renewed their bilateral local currency swap agreement, the PBOC said on Wednesday.

The scale of the swap facility has been expanded from the previous 18 billion yuan (2.65 billion U.S. dollars) to 30 billion yuan.

The agreement is valid for three years and can be extended upon mutual consent of both sides.

The PBOC stated that the renewal of the agreement and expansion of the swap scale will help deepen bilateral monetary and financial cooperation, expand the use of local currencies between China and Egypt, facilitate bilateral trade and investment, and maintain financial market stability.  ■