China foreign debt falls as yuan depreciation fears resurface

Foreign debt at end-March fell 3.6 percent from the end of 2015, after a 3.8 percent drop in the fourth quarter, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said on its website.

The SAFE said in a separate statement that it expected the size of China's foreign debt to stabilize, and it would take steps to prevent risk from abnormal cross-border capital flows.

"Overall, the rate of decline in China’s outstanding foreign debt slowed by the end of the first quarter with risk of repayment under control," it said.

Short-term foreign debt stood at $849.1 billion at end-March, accounting for 62 percent of total debt and down about 8 percent from the end of last year, the regulator said.

Medium- and long-term debt, which made up 38 percent of the total, rose 4 percent from the end of last year, it said.

Yuan-denominated foreign debt made up 44 percent of the total foreign debt at the end of March, the regulator said.

The yuan has slipped about 2.3 percent against the dollar so far this year to more than five-year lows and is expected to weaken further as China's economy continues to slow.

(Reporting By Beijing Monitoring Desk and Kevin Yao; Editing by Kim Coghill)