ASIAN holdings of foreign exchange reserves, excluding those of China's, shrank by US$119 billion (S$178 billion) in October to US$2.34 trillion, central bank data showed.

The decline was led by a US$38.9 billion plunge in India's holdings and a drop of US$27.4 billion in South Korea's.

China, holder of the world's largest reserves, releases data at the end of every quarter.

Asia's overall holdings of foreign exchange reserves, including China's holdings until September, reached US$4.2 trillion last month, still up 8 per cent from the end of 2007, data showed. -- REUTERS