China's high-level bond market opening-up has facilitated more financing and investment in the renminbi by countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, according to data from the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, published on Monday.

Overseas institutions relevant to countries involved in the BRI had issued 31.9 billion yuan ($4.64 billion) in renminbi bonds in China's interbank bond market by the end of February, up from 29.9 billion yuan a year ago, the PBOC said in an interview with China Daily.

Up to 167 institutional investors from Belt and Road countries had entered China's interbank bond market and registered bond holdings worth about 1.54 trillion yuan by the end of February, accounting for nearly half of the total overseas holdings in the market.

As of the end of February, up to 1,080 overseas institutions had entered the country's interbank bond market, holding 3.2 trillion yuan in bonds, while overseas issuers had issued bonds worth 479.6 billion yuan.

The overseas issuers include international development institutions, foreign governments, financial institutions and non-financial enterprises.