China's outstanding foreign exchange reserve stood at US$403.3 billion at the end of 2003, according to a central bank report Thursday.

This represents a 40.8 percent surge on an annual basis, it said.

In 2003, the nation's forex reserve increased by 116.8 billion dollars, 42.6 billion dollars more than that of the previous year.

The annual report said the Renminbi exchange rate remained stable last year, with one US dollar against 8.2767 yuan at the year-end.

(China Daily January 16, 2004)