China to issue first ever international bonds offering
(20 October 2015 - Hong Kong) In a landmark move, China’s central bank is pushing a one year Dim Sum benchmark at approximately 3.30%. The bonds will be issued in London, and will be the country’s first overseas sale of paper.
The offering is seen as part of a push by People’s Bank of China (PBoC) to further promote international use of the domestic currency and increase its chances of being added to the basket that underlies the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) special drawing rights.
The net proceeds from the unrated, fixed-rate, senior unsecured notes are believed to be worth around 5 billion yuan ($A1.08 billion) and will be used to support PBoC’s operations.
According to Reuters, HSBC and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) have been appointed global coordinators for the deal. The two banks, in addition to Agricultural Bank of China (Dubai International Financial Centre branch), Bank of China, Bank of Communications, China Construction Bank and Standard Chartered have been hired as bookrunners and lead managers.