A record $6 billion sovereign bond sale by the Chinese government is reportedly underway with the issuance planned for as early as next week.
China's Ministry of Finance is considering 3-year, 5-year, 10-year and 20-year tenures, according to an «SCMP» report citing unnamed sources. Issuance could occur as early as next Tuesday, the source added, and will not be rated.
A $6 billion bond sale would double and triple issuances in 2018 and 2017, respectively, after a halt in sovereign dollar debt issuance since 2004. According to Bloomberg data, Chinese borrowers issued $195 billion of bonds year-to-date – a record pace – with the potential to beat the all-time record of $211 billion in 2017.
China continues to grapple with a slowdown fueled by an ongoing trade war with the U.S. and continues to make moves to increase liquidity and loosen monetary policy. The People's Bank of China has been making cuts to key interest rates including its medium-term lending facility (MLF), 7-day repo rate and, most recently, its loan prime rate (LPR).
