China Development Bank to sell bonds worth US$5.28 billion on connect programme anniversary

China Development Bank, a policy lender that supports state projects, said on Monday it will sell 35 billion yuan (US$5.28 billion) of debt that offshore investors can buy through the bond connect programme with Hong Kong.

The flotation of the financial bonds will start on China’s interbank market and the bond link on Wednesday, with maturity ranging from one year to 10 years, the bank said in a statement. The Hong Kong units of Bank of China, Ping An Securities and Credit Agricole will coordinate the sales, it said.

“The bond connect mechanism promotes the allocation of yuan-denominated assets by global investors, expands the offshore use of the renminbi and pushes forward the orderly opening up of China’s capital markets,” Zhang Xuguang, vice-president of China Development Bank, said in the statement. “The achievements are conspicuous.”

The offering coincides with the anniversary of the launch of the bond connect, a programme similar to the stock exchange links that allow foreign investors access to China’s interbank market. China Development Bank sold 20 billion yuan worth of bonds a year ago to meet demand from overseas investors for yuan-traded notes.

Ping An Securities is studying an index of bonds maturing between five and 10 years issued by China Development Bank, and will launch an exchange-traded fund tracking debt offered by the policy lender, the statement said, without giving a time table. Trading of the ETF will be supported by market makers, it said.