BEIJING — China's local governments issued more bonds in 2019 than in 2018, official data showed on Jan 21.

The value of local government bonds issued totaled some 4.36 trillion yuan (about $632.5 billion) last year, up about 197.2 billion yuan from 2018, according to the Ministry of Finance (MOF).

Among the total, the issuance value of special-purpose local government bonds aimed at providing financial support for public-interest projects reached about 2.58 trillion yuan.

In December, local governments issued bonds worth about 37.99 billion yuan.

MOF data also showed outstanding local government debts amounted to roughly 21.31 trillion yuan at the end of December, below the official ceiling of about 24.08 trillion yuan set for the year.