BEIJING -- China's local government bond issuance reached 362.3 billion yuan ($56 billion) in January, data by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) showed.

Out of the total, the issuance of general bonds totaled 212.7 billion yuan last month, while that of special bonds amounted to 149.6 billion yuan, the MOF said.

In January, local government bonds were issued with an average maturity period of eight years and an average interest rate of 3.37 percent.

The MOF data also showed China's outstanding local government debt stood at 26.02 trillion yuan by the end of January.