BEIJING — China issued new local government bonds worth around 2.177 trillion yuan (about $316.37 billion) in the first half of 2019, official data showed.

The accumulated new bonds accounted for about 70.7 percent of the annual local government debt quota of 3.08 trillion yuan, according to the Ministry of Finance.

In June alone, the new issuance amounted to 717 billion yuan, an approximately one-third share of the total amount in H1 and a monthly high so far this year.

The pace of issuance in H1 accelerated by 55.2 percentage points compared with the same period last year, with longer bond maturities and lower interest costs, the ministry said.

Most of the new local government bonds were used to finance projects under construction including shantytown renovation, transport infrastructure, rural revitalization and water conservation works.

This year’s government work report made it clear that the country will make effective use of the role of local government bonds. To further boost regional development, China will issue 2.15 trillion yuan of special local government bonds this year, up by 800 billion yuan from last year.