China's outstanding foreign debt rose 3 percent in the third quarter, data from the foreign exchange regulator showed on Friday, quickening from a 2.2 percent rise in the second quarter. Foreign debt at the end of September rose $42.7 billion from the end of June to $1.43 trillion, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said in a statement.
"Overall foreign debt continued a rebound seen in the second quarter, indicating that the deleveraging process in our country's foreign debt is basically over," the SAFE said. Foreign debt fell 3.6 percent in the first quarter, after a 3.8 percent drop in the fourth quarter, as domestic firms repaid their dollar liabilities amid expectations that the yuan would weaken.
Short-term foreign debt stood at $894.4 billion at end-September, up from $867.3 billion at the end of the second quarter, the regulator said. Short-term foreign debt accounted for 62 percent of the total at the end of the third quarter, while medium- and long-term debt made up 38 percent of the total, Yuan-denominated foreign debt made up for 40 percent of total foreign debt at the end of September, compared with 43 percent at the end of June. The yuan is down nearly 6.6 percent against the dollar in 2016, putting it on track for its biggest annual fall since China established its foreign exchange market in 1994.
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