The total Renminbi bank deposits of Chinese residents had reached 10 trillion yuan (US$1.2 trillion) for the first time by the end of September, China's central bank said Thursday.

According to a report released by the People's Bank of China (PBOC) Thursday, the outstanding amount of Renminbi bank deposits of urban and rural Chinese residents rose 1.4 trillion yuan (US$169.3 billion) in the first nine months of this year, up 19.9 percent over the same period of last year.

Renminbi loans also saw a sharp increase in the first three quarters, reaching 15.6 trillion yuan (US$1.89 trillion), a year-on-year increase of 23.5 percent.

By the end of September, the forex reserve reached US$383.9 billion, up 48.4 percent and the market exchange rate for Renminbi to US dollars was 8.2770, almost at the same level as the end of last year.

The broad money supply reached 21.4 trillion yuan (US$2.59 trillion) by the end of September, up 20.7 percent over the same period of last year, while the narrowly defined money supply rose 18.5 percent to 7.9 trillion yuan (US$955.3 billion).

The cash supply put into the market in the first nine months reached 102.8 billion yuan (US$12.4 billion), a year-on-year increase of 48.8 billion yuan (US$5.9 billion). The increase of money supply was much higher than the combined increase of gross domestic products and consumer price.

According to the PBOC officials, the central bank adopted a stable currency policy this year, which has given strong support to the fast and sound development of the national economy.

(People's Daily October 17, 2003)