Chinese banks made 1.32 trillion yuan (US$218bil) worth of new yuan loans in January, beating a 1.1 trillion yuan forecast and nearly three times December's level.
It is usual for loans to spike in January, when banks try to lend as much as they can to grab market share, but last month's surge was still the largest since January 2010.
The next hurdle will be HSBC's flash PMI survey of manufacturers for February later this week, given January's disappointing result sent ripples through global markets.
The same day has a rash of flash PMIs for Europe and the US, along with US inflation data.
Finance Ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 also start their meeting in Sydney on Thursday. Events run through to Sunday, when European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, among others, gives a news conference.
Minutes of the February policy meeting of the Federal Reserve are due on Wednesday but are not expected to differ greatly from the steady outlook offered by Fed Chair Janet Yellen last week.
Yellen still has to appear before the Senate after her testimony was postponed due to bad weather, but no firm day has been set as yet. - Reuters
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