China's central bank yesterday warned that it planned to “strictly control” credit to some sectors of the economy after the country recorded a record surge in new bank loans and money supply in March.

The central bank's statement, made after a routine quarterly monetary policy meeting, followed the release on Saturday of the money supply data. The data appeared to confirm that Beijing's stimulus measures are revitalising the domestic economy but raised credit risk and inflation concerns.

Banks extended Rmb1,890bntrn ($278bn, €203bn, ￡193bn) in loans last month, according to the money supply data released by the People's Bank of China on Saturday, breaking the earlier monthly record set in January. This means bank lending is approaching the government's full-year target of Rmb5,000bn already after the first quarter – the total for the three months to March 31 was Rmb4,580bntrn.