Corporate loan growth rate up in Q1

Companies in China borrowed more in the first quarter of 2016 than they did in the same period last year. That's according to data released by China's central bank on Wednesday.

The People's Bank of China says total borrowing accelerated in the first quarter. The central bank says the total outstanding yuan loans were worth 98.56 trillion yuan, or 15 trillion US dollars, at the end of March. That's up 15 percent from a year ago and slightly faster than last year's fourth quarter. Corporations had borrowed 11 trillion US dollars by the end of March, up 11 percent from a year ago and also better than last year's fourth quarter.

Also by the end of March, SMEs outpaced bigger companies in growth of debt. Sector wise, industrial and services companies saw bank debt growth eased from three months ago.

Meanwhile, real estate related loans increased at a faster pace than a quarter ago. The data excluded financial firms.