China issues over 4.02t yuan of local govt bonds in H1

In this undated file photo, a worker counts Chinese currency renminbi at a bank in Linyi, East China's Shandong province. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING – China's local governments have issued over 4.02 trillion yuan (about US$596.11 billion) worth of bonds in the first half of this year, data from the Ministry of Finance showed.

Of the total, the issuance of general bonds stood at 614.8 billion yuan, while the special bond issuance came in at nearly 3.41 trillion yuan in the period, the data showed.

The bonds were issued at an average issuance term of 14.1 years and an average interest rate of 3.08 percent in the January-June period, according to the Finance Ministry

The bonds were issued at an average issuance term of 14.1 years and an average interest rate of 3.08 percent in the January-June period, according to the ministry.

In June alone, the country issued 1.58 trillion yuan of local government bonds.

ALSO READ: More local govt bonds to help smaller lenders

At the end of last month, China's outstanding local government debt stood at nearly 34.75 trillion yuan, within the official limit for this year, according to the ministry.