BEIJING — China’s green finance saw steady growth in the first quarter, a central bank report said.

Outstanding green loans in yuan and foreign currencies reached 9.23 trillion yuan ($1.37 trillion) by March, up 4.3 percent from the beginning of the year and accounting for 9.9 percent of the total, according to the People’s Bank of China (PBOC).

Specifically, the loan balances for green transport projects and renewable and clean energy projects came in at 4.1 trillion and 2.28 trillion yuan, up 4.8 percent and 1.7 percent respectively from the beginning of this year.

Green financing has maintained rapid growth as banks are encouraged to lend more support to the real economy.

In 2018, outstanding green loans reached 8.23 trillion yuan, up 16 percent year on year, 6.1 percentage points faster than the overall loan growth for nonfinancial enterprises and other organizations.