BEIJING — The value of bonds issued in China increased 170.1 percent year on year in November, as the government encourages their issuance as a way to help firms access financing.

Around 2.7 trillion yuan’s ($416.97 billion) worth of bonds were issued last month, up from 2.1 trillion in October and 2.5 trillion in September, said the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) on Dec 21.

Of the total, 2.5 trillion yuan’s worth were issued through the inter-bank bond market, 167.8 percent more than in November 2014.

After China lowered the threshold for companies to issue bonds and allowed more foreign companies to buy Chinese bonds, bonds issued in the first 11 months of 2015 totalled 19.9 trillion yuan, up 81.6 percent from a year ago.

Other official moves designed to help small firms weather China’s economic slowdown have included the PBOC cutting interest rates and deposit reserve ratios to encourage banks to make loans.