File photo

China's local governments have issued over 3.32 trillion yuan (about 494.8 billion U.S. dollars) worth of bonds in the first five months of this year, data from the Ministry of Finance showed on Thursday.

Of the total, the issuance of general bonds stood at 889.3 billion yuan, while the special bond issuance came in at over 2.43 trillion yuan in the period, the data showed.

The bonds were issued at an average issuance term of 13.7 years and an average interest rate of 3.07 percent in the January-May period, according to the ministry.

In May alone, the country issued 1.21 trillion yuan of local government bonds.

At the end of last month, China's outstanding local government debt stood at nearly 33.25 trillion yuan, within the official limit for this year, said the ministry.