China's bond markets look finally to be getting off the ground. Already this year, the government has launched about 150 billion yuan (HK$140 billion) in treasury bonds, nearly as much as the entire amount that was outstanding to the end of last year.
The combined total of about 300 billion yuan is minuscule compared with the bond markets of Japan or the United States.
It is also dwarfed by the total amount of money held in bank deposits, which tops three trillion yuan. But the recent success of some domestic issues indicates that China's debt markets are set for rapid growth.
Only last year, the bond markets were all but written off.
In May 1995, wild speculation by Shanghai International Securities and other firms led to the collapse of the bond futures market, which in turn sapped the wider market.
In addition, with inflation soaring and the government subsidising interest rates on bank deposits to stabilise a banking sector weakened by a deteriorating state sector, there was naturally little interest in bond issues.