China has become the world's third largest bond market with outstanding bonds hitting 62.2 trillion yuan by the end of November. That's up 16.5 percent from the same period last year.
Chairman of China central depository & clearing company said, "Bond issuance has become an import channel in financing for the real economy and China's macro-economic regulation. It takes up 15 percent of China's total social financing."
Analysts say the leverage level among commercial banks and insurance companies is being kept relatively low despite that they hold over 70 percent of China's outstanding bonds. But they also warn that stock brokerages are keen to borrow to finance bond holdings. They suggest that regulators enhance supervision of the bond market as the global economy slowly recovers.