External debt rises to $1.67t by March

Outstanding foreign debt rose to 10.28 trillion yuan ($1.67 trillion) by the end of March in China this year, with yuan-denominated debt accounting for 48.1 percent of the total, the country's forex regulator said on Friday.

Yuan-denominated foreign debt stood at $804 billion at the end of March, while debt in other foreign currencies fell by 3 percent from $895.5 billion, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said.

According to the regulator, the growth in the yuan-denominated debt reflects the significant progress in the internationalization of the yuan and the currency's rising popularity for cross-border settlements since July 2009. Higher yuan deposits by foreign financial institutions contributed to the growth in yuan debt holdings, it said.