NAIROBI, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- Foreign currency deposits at Kenyan banks rose by 21 percent year-on-year as of September, central bank data showed on Friday, as the institutions embraced other currencies like the Chinese yuan and the Japanese yen.
The banks' foreign currency deposits surged to 570.1 billion Kenyan shillings (5.59 billion U.S. dollars) by September, up from 4.62 billion dollars a year ago, according to Central Bank of Kenya's economic report for the third quarter.
"The pickup in growth reflects an improvement in time and savings deposits and the foreign currency deposits," said the bank.
Over the years, Kenyan banks have kept their foreign reserves mainly in U.S. dollars, British pound and euro, but have in recent years adopted yuan, yen, the Indian rupee and United Arab Emirates' dirham, among others.
