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Hong Kong’s latest Silver Bond in strong demand, say banks, after government lowered age threshold to 60
- Hong Kong’s government plans to issue up to US$3.9 billion in latest round of inflation-linked debt targeted at the city’s seniors
- The strong demand came as the Hong Kong government for the first time lowered the minimum age of eligibility to those who will turn 60 next year
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Hong Kong’s senior citizens rushed to subscribe to the latest batch of inflation-protected bonds on the first day of the offering on Tuesday, after the government opened the bond offering to more people by lowering the entry age from 65 to 60, according to banks and brokers.
The government plans to double the maximum offer of the so-called Silver Bond to HK$30 billion (US$3.9 billion), compared with the maximum HK$15 billion issued in its prior offering in December.
The bigger offering came as the Hong Kong government, for the first time, lowered the minimum age of eligibility to those who will turn 60 next year, referring to people who were born in 1962. This is the first time the minimum age has been lowered from 65 since the bonds were issued to retail investors beginning in 2016.
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The lower age threshold will add 600,000 residents to the pool of investors who can subscribe to the securities, expanding the total number of qualified subscribers to about 2 million, according to Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).
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The initial offering for the bonds will be HK$24 billion, but can be increased to a maximum of HK$30 billion if demand is strong. The subscription period started on Tuesday and will run until July 30.
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