China's Ministry of Finance will sell a special treasury bond to raise money to buy foreign exchange reserves from the central bank, a finance ministry official said yesterday.

"Since it will be a special treasury bond issue, the state council will decide on the amount and then submit to the National People's Congress for approval," Zhan Jingtao, director-general of the treasury department of the ministry, said in Beijing. China's currency reserves grew at about US$1 million a minute in the first three months of this year to reach US$1.2 trillion, as exports boomed. The government is setting up a state investment company that will use some of the reserves to buy investments with higher yields. The State Investment Co will probably be set up before the end of the year.