The Suez Canal Authority has apparently proposed an initiative which would see shipping companies deposit three years’ worth of transit fees in advance in local banks in exchange for discounts, Al Mal reports. The proposal — which aims to shore up FX reserves — was made at a meeting with shipping lines last week, said a source who attended the meeting. Some companies seemed inclined to approve, and have arranged a meeting with the authority to discuss the proposal further. On a related note, the authority sent official notices that it will be accepting payments in Yuan, following the currency’s inclusion in the basket of currencies that form the International Monetary Fund’s unit of account, the Special Drawing Right (SDR), the newspaper reports.