Foreign holdings of China bonds hit record in May on stronger yuan

SHANGHAI: Foreign investors held a record amount of Chinese yuan bonds at the end of May, official data showed, as a strengthening yuan increased the appeal of Chinese assets.

Holdings by offshore investors of bonds traded in China's interbank market stood at 3.68 trillion yuan ($575 billion) at the end of May, according to Reuters calculations using data released on Friday evening by China Central Depository & Clearing Co and the Shanghai Clearing House.

That was up 1.7%, or 61.47 billion yuan, from a month earlier.
Offshore investors held a record 2.12 trillion yuan of Chinese government bonds at the end of May, up 1.2% from April and accounting for 10.4% of all outstanding CGBs.

China's yuan strengthened more than 1.6% against the dollar in May, supported by the country's robust economic recovery and capital inflows.

In recent weeks, Beijing has mounted a coordinated effort to talk down expectations of a stronger yuan through official warnings about one-sided bets on yuan appreciation and regulatory steps to stem the yuan's rise.

($1 = 6.3945 Chinese yuan)