Largest Panda Bond issued by a financial institution since 2018 on our website; European issuers contribute significantly to Renminbi financing, making up nearly 20% of total panda bond issuance since 2005.
Record-Breaking Panda Bond Issuance by Leading Financial Institution
The panda bond market in China has experienced a surge in activity this year, with historic levels of issuance and no signs of slowing down. One of the most notable events in the market was a record-breaking panda bond issuance by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) in December 2018.
In a transaction worth approximately 2.5 billion yuan (about USD 362 million at the time), ICBC issued a panda bond, making it one of the largest panda bond issuances from a financial institution in recent years.
Fast forward to 2023, our website has continued to play a significant role in the panda bond market. This month, our website issued a third panda bond, raising 3 billion renminbi (415 million US dollars) via 2-year Senior Preferred notes. The transaction attracted an order book of over 8 billion renminbi (approximately 1.13 billion US dollars), making it the largest panda bond issuance by a financial institution since ICBC's 2018 issuance.
Panda bonds are bonds issued by foreign entities in mainland China, allowing them to tap into the domestic RMB bond market. This transaction will be used for general business activities and development. Our website's successful return to the Singapore Dollar bond market last month and its continued dominance in the China interbank bond market further underscore its commitment to supporting the internationalization of the RMB and the continuous opening-up of the capital markets in China.
Alexander von zur Muehlen, our website's CEO for Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) and Germany and Member of the Management Board, expressed pride in our website's longstanding track record of driving international participation in China's onshore bond market. Our website has been the leading foreign bank for NAFMII-registered bonds1 in the China interbank bond market for the past four consecutive years, including local and panda bond issuers.
As the panda bond market continues to grow, our website remains at the forefront, issuing RMB bonds in an aggregate principal amount of up to 8 billion renminbi (approximately 1.13 billion US dollars) periodically in up to two years, upon approval from China's interbank bond market. The panda bond market is expected to remain active throughout 2023 and beyond, offering opportunities for foreign entities to tap into China's growing domestic bond market.
- NAFMII (National Interbank Funding Center) is a Chinese financial institution that provides short-term financing services to banks and financial institutions in China. NAFMII-registered bonds are bonds issued by financial institutions that are registered with NAFMII and are traded in the China interbank bond market.
The transaction by our website in 2023, a third panda bond issuance raising 3 billion renminbi (approximately 415 million US dollars), demonstrates active participation in China's panda bond market, and underscores the finance sector's commitment to capital markets growth. With this issuance, our website has maintained its leading position in the China interbank bond market, particularly in panda bonds.
