BOAO, Hainan, April 18 (Xinhua) -- The integration of Asian financial markets is progressing steadily, according to a report released by the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Sunday.

The BFA Asian Economic Outlook and Integration Progress Annual Report 2021 states that in 2019, the portfolio of assets attracted by Asian countries' financial markets increased by 14.24 percent, and 22 percent of the funds came from Asia itself.

Portfolio investment from China and into China increased by 29.73 percent and 21.27 percent, respectively, according to the report.

"Asian economies actively promote currency cooperation and infrastructure interconnection. The scale of bilateral currency swaps has reached more than 240 billion U.S. dollars, and domestic currency cooperation among Asian economies is promoted," the report said.

In January 2021, the Japanese yen, Chinese yuan, Hong Kong dollar, Singapore dollar and Thai baht were among the top 10 currencies for global payment and settlement, it said.

International financial centers, such as Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing and Shenzhen, have played important roles in directing global capital to Asia, serving the real economy, and supporting innovation-oriented development, the report said. Enditem