Oh, the tyranny of wealth. Chinese premier Wen Jiabao is the latest Asian leader to bemoan a rapidly rising pile of foreign exchange reserves: $955bn in China’s case and some $3,000bn for the region as a whole. However you cut it, most Asian central banks are sitting on more cash than even the rainiest day demands. That has prompted Singapore to hive off funds for more aggressive investment, a strategy South Korea seeks to follow.

Mr Wen’s headache is twofold. Reserves are accumulating at a giddy rate, currently around $20bn a month. Mopping up the domestic liquidity created – since China’s desire for a stable exchange rate obliges it to buy the dollars – requires hefty issuance of sterilisation bonds. Meantime, the amassed funds may be a sign of economic might, but the returns on them are modest.