BEIJING - The value of bonds issued in China last year totaled 36.1 trillion yuan ($5.23 trillion), the central bank said Sunday.

The figure was up 54.2 percent from 2015, according to the People's Bank of China (PBOC).

The surge in bond issuance suggests it is becoming easier for Chinese firms to find affordable financing. The PBOC said that financing costs for companies through bond issuance had significantly reduced since 2014.

The bank said in April last year that China would not limit investment by foreign central banks and similar institutions in the Chinese inter-bank foreign exchange and bond markets as long as they registered their investments.