China's foreign-exchange reserves soared by nearly 20 per cent last year to reach $2.85 trillion , the central bank said on Tuesday. The People's Bank of China recorded a rise of $199 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010, taking total foreign-exchange reserves to $2.85 trillion by December 31, 18.7 per cent higher than the 2009 figure. A statement posted on the bank's website also said local-currency bank loans totaled 7.95 trillion Yuan ($1.2 trillion) last year, down from 9.6 trillion Yuan in 2009 but still above the government's 2010 target of 7.5 trillion Yuan. The government took a series of measures aimed at curbing bank lending last year as part of its efforts to control consumer-price inflation and cool the overheated property market, according to a report of the German Press Agency "DPA."
