BEIJING, Sept. 26 -- The People's Bank of China (PBOC) on Thursday issued a total of 10 billion yuan (about 1.4 billion U.S. dollars) of central bank bills in Hong Kong.

The bills will mature in six months, with the bid interest rate at 2.89 percent, the PBOC said in an online statement.

The issuance was well received by investors in the offshore market, with the total bid amount exceeding 36 billion yuan, the PBOC said.

Since November last year, the PBOC has issued 130 billion yuan of such bills in Hong Kong and established a regular mechanism of issuing central bank bills in the region.

The move helps to expand the range of yuan-denominated financial products with high credit ratings in Hong Kong, offer more yuan liquidity management tools, and improve the yield curve of yuan bonds in Hong Kong, according to the PBOC.

The issuance also fosters the development of offshore yuan monetary market and yuan bond market, and promotes yuan internationalization, it added.