BEIJING, April 18 -- Foreign investors saw a net increase of 41.6 billion U.S. dollars in their holdings of China's domestic bonds in the first quarter of 2024, official data showed on Thursday.

This figure is notably higher than the total net increase of 23 billion U.S. dollars registered in 2023.

"Recently, overseas institutions' investment in domestic bonds has increased significantly," Wang Chunying, deputy director and spokesperson of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, told a press conference.

By the end of March, more than 1,100 overseas institutions from over 70 countries and regions entered the domestic bond market. Their bond holdings have exceeded 570 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for around 2.6 percent of the total domestic bonds in custody, up 0.2 percentage points from the end of last year.

Overseas investment in domestic bond market sustains reasonable structure and stable returns, Wang said. Overseas central banks and financial institutions have increased their investments in treasury bonds, policy financial bonds, and other medium- to long-term bonds.

Looking forward, Wang expects overseas institutions' investment in domestic bonds to sustain a steady growth momentum backed by a sound macroeconomic environment, a stable renminbi exchange rate, and an increase in the use of renminbi in global cross-border transactions.