BEIJING, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Overseas investors owned more Chinese yuan-denominated bonds in April, the first trading month after China's yuan-denominated bonds were added to the Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate Index.

(Photo: VCG)

At the end of April, the total amount of yuan bonds owned by overseas institutions under the depository of the China Central Depository & Clearing Co. (CCDC) surged 28.62 percent year-on-year to 1.53 trillion yuan (about $226.27 billion), the CCDC said.

The amount edged up by 1.79 percent from the end of last year.

The strong growth in overseas holdings of yuan bonds was also boosted by the Bond Connect program, a market access scheme launched in July 2017 that allows overseas investors to invest in the Chinese mainland's interbank bond market using financial institutions on the mainland and in Hong Kong.

Trading volume under the bond connect program in April saw a 60-percent increase month-on-month rising to 116.9 billion yuan ($17.25 billion), according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.

More registered institutional investors across the globe chose the Bond Connect to access the world's third largest bond market by the end of April, with the total number jumping to 845 from 503 at the end of 2018.