BEIJING -- The Agricultural Development Bank of China, the nation's third-largest issuer of bonds, launched 2 billion yuan (about $282.08 million) of bonds to support ecological protection.

The bonds will mature in three years, with the interest rate standing at 1.649 percent, aiming to fund key areas of the ecological civilization construction.

As of the end of the first quarter, the policy bank's outstanding loans for green development totaled 659 billion yuan, involving sectors including ecological environment, energy conservation, green upgrades of infrastructure as well as clean industry.