Hot money in China may reach US$122 billion in the second quarter under the Chinese statistical method, according to Wednesday's China Securities Journal.

Statistics from the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said China's foreign exchange reserves increased by US$177.9 billion in the second quarter.

During the same period, the country's trade surplus stood at US$34.7 billion, and foreign direct investment (FDI) increased by US$21.2 billion, said the paper.

These figures indicate that speculative capital, or hot money in China, could amount to US$122 billion in the second quarter, which equals the foreign exchange reserves minus trade surplus and FDI.

Earlier this month, the PBOC said the country's foreign exchange reserves rose 17.84 percent year-on-year to US$2.132 trillion, more than twice that of Japan's US$1.02 trillion - the world's second-largest foreign currency holder.

(China Daily July 29, 2009)