BEIJING - China issued a total of 9 trillion yuan ($1.5 trillion) bonds in 2013, up 12.5 percent from a year earlier, said the central bank on Tuesday.

The issue of corporate debentures slowed and yields on treasuries edged up, said the People's Bank of China in a statement.

Last year saw new corporate debentures worth 3.7 trillion yuan, up 4 percent, while the yield of three-year treasuries rose 132 basis points by the end of 2013 compared to a year before.

The interbank bond market grew rapidly as more overseas financial institutions entered the market. By the end of 2013, a total of 138 overseas institutions were operating in China's interbank bond market.

The statement also showed that compared to 2012, turnover of the interbank market and main stock indices dropped, while volumes of trading and new accounts at counters of commercial banks rose.