Bank loans made in China last month amounted to 1.62 trillion yuan (237.19 billion U.S. dollars), an increment of 814.1 billion yuan, or 103.6 percent, on the same month of 2008, the People's Bank of China, the central bank, said on Thursday.

Credit extension, boosted by China's ambitious economy-stimulation plan, has been robust since late last year. Loans made nationwide stood at 771.8 billion yuan last December, 723.3 billion yuan, or nearly 15 folds, above the year-earlier level.

According to data released by the central bank, outstanding local currency loans were up 21.33 percent to 31.99 trillion yuan at the end of January. The growth rate was 2.6 percentage points higher than the end of 2008.

Through January, the M2 -- a broad measure of money supply, which covers cash in circulation plus all deposits -- grew by 18.79 percent from a year earlier to 49.61 trillion yuan.

The M2 growth rate was 0.97 percentage points higher than the previous month. The growth rate for last December was 3.02 percentage points above that of the previous month, after the figure falling for six consecutive months.

Through January, the narrow measure of money supply, M1(cash in circulation plus corporate current deposits), was up 6.68 percent to 16.52 trillion yuan from a year earlier. The growth rate was 2.38 percentage points lower than the end of 2008, according to the central bank.

The outstanding amount of M0, or cash in circulation, hit 4.11 trillion yuan, up 12.02 percent from the same point last year.

Source: Xinhua