SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's top economic planner said on Wednesday that it would ease restrictions on corporate bond issues to encourage "high-quality" companies to issue more bonds to support the economy.

Companies can now raise as much as 70 per cent of a project's funding need, the National Deverlopment and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a statement published in its website www.ndrc.gov.cn.

Previously, the limit for most projects was 60 per cent.