China's short-term foreign debt rises

BEIJING, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Short-term foreign debt surged in China in the second quarter, the government's State Administration of Foreign Exchange said Saturday.

Short-term foreign debt climbed to 66.9 percent of China's total debt, up from 61.3 percent in the first quarter. By itself, short-term investment in foreign debt climbed 24 percent, the China Daily reported.

Foreign debt in total reached $513.8 billion in the second quarter, to about one-fifth of China's foreign exchange reserves.

In response to the new figures, Moody's Investor Service said Chinese bonds were under review. The rating agency is considering upgrading Chinese government bonds, the newspaper said.