OREANDA-NEWS. December 06, 2012. Agricultural Bank of China Limited (ABC) completed its first issue of RMB bonds worth RMB1 billion on the offshore RMB market in Hong Kong. This issue is ABC’s first direct debt financing as a domestic entity in an overseas bond market since 2007, when the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) allowed domestic financial institutions to issue RMB bonds in Hong Kong. It follows on the heels of another pioneering initiative in overseas capital operations, when ABC simultaneously launched A+H shares in 2010, reported the press-centre of ABC. 

This recent issue of ordinary RMB bonds is targeted to institutional investors. The initial reference price range of the three-year bonds was set between 3.2%-3.3%, stimulating active subscription from investors and attracting participation of overseas sovereign funds and European institutional investors. The interest rate floor for face value is 3.2%.

This successful issue of RMB bonds lays down a solid foundation for ABC to carry out more direct debt financing in offshore markets in the future, and creates a new channel for our overseas capital operation. In the long run, against the backdrop of increasingly stricter capital regulation, these diversified capital operation channels will further enhance ABC’s core competitiveness and development potential, thereby creating bigger value for shareholders, bond buyers, and the society as a whole.