BEIJING - China's central bank said Wednesday that overseas renminbi (RMB) funds had vigorously supported the Belt and Road development during the past two years.

The volume of overseas RMB fund business topped 300 billion yuan ($45 billion) at the end of the first quarter, covering industries including transport, power, finance and manufacturing, according to an article published on the website of the People's Bank of China (PBOC).

The funds served as a significant financing channel for Belt and Road projects and satisfied the increasing demand for the currency on global capital markets, the article said.

The PBOC noted that the Silk Road Fund, founded in December 2014, saw 18 billion yuan of RMB capital contribution.

The article also listed several major projects financed by overseas RMB funds.

The Silk Road Fund invested in a new energy company of ACWA, an energy giant headquartered in Saudi Arabia. Agricultural Bank of China made loans to a textile industrial park in Tajikistan. The China-Africa Development Fund invested in a copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo that added more than 1,000 local jobs.

Overseas renminbi funds have been primarily recognized on global markets and will continue to offer more types of overseas renminbi assets and better financing solutions to the Belt and Road, the article said.