SHANGHAI: China's benchmark money market rate opened sharply lower on Monday after a top Chinese state-owned bank executive confirmed that the central bank has injected money into the banking system via a policy tool known as Standing Lending Facility (SLF).

The seven-day bond repurchase agreement opened at 3.15 percent, down from 3.34 percent at the close on Friday. The opening rate is often guided by the central bank and does not necessarily indicate liquidity conditions in the market.

The central People's Bank of China has issued 500 billion yuan ($81.4 billion) worth of three-month loans to the country's five biggest banks, state news agency Xinhua quoted China Construction Bank Chairman Wang Hongzhang as saying on Friday.