China's new yuan loans rise in April

BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhua) -- China's banks issued a combined amount of 1.1 trillion yuan (about 160 billion U.S. dollars) in new yuan loans in April, the central bank said Friday.

April's new yuan loan growth represented an increase of 542.2 billion yuan year on year, according to data from the People's Bank of China.

By the end of last month, total outstanding yuan-denominated loans stood at 111.9 trillion yuan, up 12.9 percent year on year.