China is considering allowing overseas investors to issue yuan-denominated securities, an official said Wednesday.

"We are exploring ways to permit foreign institutions and companies to issue yuan-denominated debts or CDRs (Chinese Depositary Receipts) in China," a top official from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (Safe) said.

It is just one measure intended to promote the convertibility of China's yuan under the capital account, said SAFE's deputy director Ma Delun.

In July, state press reports quoted Safe director Guo Shuqing as saying that China was considering a plan to allow foreign companies to list on the country's stock markets through CDRs.

Officials are also looking at increasing the yuan's convertibility through the introduction of a qualified domestic institutional investor (QDII) system that would allow Chinese to invest in overseas stock markets.

Apart from achieving convertibility on the current account, which measures trade and financial transfers, China's yuan has edged toward partial convertibility on the capital account, a total measure of the country's net flow of money.

"For now, only six items, or 13.9 percent, on the yuan capital account are utterly non-convertible," Ma said. "All the remaining items have been offered convertibility to varying degrees."

(Shenzhen Daily-Agencies)