China’s central bank on Thursday announced that it has signed a three-year bilateral swap agreement with Nigeria worth $2.36 billion (15billion yuan).

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) disclosed on its website that the swap deal will facilitate trade and investment as well as safeguard the stability of financial markets of both nations.

A currency swap is an agreement in which two parties exchange the principal amount of a loan and the interest in one country is exchanged for the principal and interest in another currency. At the inception of the swap, the equivalent principal amounts are exchanged at the spot rate.

Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and has the continent’s biggest economy. China on the other hand is seen as a key economic player across the African continent whose infrastructure investment are sprawling across much of sub-Saharan Africa.