In the first nine months of this year, China's forex reserves increased by US$30.19 billion, or US$24.79 billion more than in the same period last year.

At the end of September, the exchange rate of renminbi (RMB) was 1 US dollar for 8.2769 RMB, remaining stable.

The People's Bank of China also released statistics Tuesday showing China's financial industry has been operating smoothly in the first nine months, with enough money to meet the demands of economic growth.

The statistics also show that by the end of September, the outstanding broad money (M2) was 15.2 trillion yuan (US$1.83 trillion), up 13.6 percent from the same period last year; that of narrow money (M1) was 5.7 trillion yuan (US$686 billion), up 12.3 percent; and that of money in circulation was 1.5 trillion yuan (US$180 billion), up 8.4 percent.

By the end of September, the outstanding amount of deposits stood at 13.9 trillion yuan (US$1.67 trillion), up 15.9 percent from the same period last year.

Corporate deposits came to 4.9 trillion yuan (US$590 billion), up 14.9 percent. And residents' deposits stood at 7.1 trillion yuan (US$855 billion), up 12.7 percent.

(China Daily 10/16/2001)