BEIJING -- The People's Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank, said Friday it has issued 10 billion yuan (about $1.43 billion) of bills in Hong Kong.

The bills will mature in six months, with an interest rate of 2.9 percent, according to the PBOC.

The issuance was well-received by investors in the offshore markets of many countries and regions including Europe, North America and Asia, with the bid amount exceeding 29 billion yuan, 2.9 times the circulation, said the PBOC.

Since last November, the PBOC has issued 170 billion yuan of bills in Hong Kong and established a normal mechanism of issuing central bank bills in the region, said the bank.

The move helps to enrich yuan-investment products with high credit ratings in Hong Kong, offer more yuan liquidity management tools, improve the yield curve of yuan bonds and advance the yuan's internationalization, it added.