The Ministry of Finance issued $4 billion in sovereign bonds in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on Oct 19. Among the total issuance, $1 billion was 3-year bonds, with a yield rate of 0.772 percent; $1.5 billion was 5-year bonds, with a yield rate of 1.275 percent; $1 billion was 10-year bonds, with a yield rate of 1.86 percent; and $500 million was 30-year bonds, with a yield rate of 2.605 percent.

This was the fifth consecutive year of such issuance since the Ministry of Finance resumed the issuance of sovereign bonds in US dollars in 2017. The issuance continued to adopt Reg S and 144A offering rules, and international rating agencies rated the sovereign bonds on their own initiative. The bonds were actively subscribed by international investors, with a subscription rate of six times, the highest in recent years, creating a historical new low of the spreads on the issuance price of US dollar-denominated sovereign bonds issued by China. International organizations, central banks, and regional monetary authorities actively invested in the bonds. Many institutional investors such as pension funds, commercial banks, insurance companies and fund companies joined the subscription, reflecting a good distribution in terms of regions and types.

The success in this US dollar-denominated sovereign bond issuance was an important step to better tap both the domestic and international markets, make good use of both internal and external resources, and expand opening-up at a higher level. It further improved the yield curves of the bonds and reflected international investors’ confidence in China's social and economic development.