China's outstanding bonds reach 23t yuan

BEIJING - China's outstanding bonds rose by 210.85 billion yuan ($33.47 billion) to reach 23.26 trillion yuan at the end of October, new official figures revealed on Saturday.

The undue 23.26-trillion-yuan of bonds, which include medium-term notes, government and corporate bonds, was equal to nearly half of China's gross domestic product last year, according to data from the China Central Depository & Clearing Co Ltd, the country's bond custodian.

Institutional investors, particularly fund companies, increased their holdings of bonds across the board in October, according to the CCDC.

CCDC data showed fund companies raised their bond portfolio by 102.4 billion yuan in the month to 2.11 trillion yuan, while commercial banks held 15.59 trillion yuan of bonds, up 51.8 billion from September.

In addition, insurance companies and brokerage firms built up their bond portfolio by 24.4 billion and 700 million yuan, respectively, in the month.

Among all newly added bond products in CCDC's custody, medium-term notes, or debts that usually mature in five to 10 years, increased the most, by 82.27 billion yuan, compared with 65.13 billion yuan in government bonds and 58.55 billion yuan in corporate bonds.