Top finance officials from East Asian countries and regions have officially signed the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization to address short-term regional needs for currency liquidity, the People's Bank of China, the central bank, said on December 28.

The agreement was signed by the finance ministers and central bank governors of China, Japan, South Korea, the 10 ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries, as well as the Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief.

Under the initiative, a $120-billion regional reserve pool will be built to provide emergency liquidity for signatory countries and regions in the event of a financial crisis.

China and Japan will contribute $38.4 billion each to the liquidity pool and South Korea will offer $19.2 billion. The 10 ASEAN nations will provide a combined $24 billion.