Bank of China to lead dollar-denominated bond issuance in HK

Bank of China Ltd announced on Friday it was named by China's Ministry of Finance as the lead underwriter and bookrunner for the upcoming issuance of $2 billion offshore sovereign bonds in Hong Kong.

The ministry will hold a promotional event in Hong Kong on Oct 25 for the issuance and then sell the bonds according to market conditions, Bank of China said in a statement on its website.

It was the first time for the Ministry of Finance to issue US dollar-denominated treasury bonds since October 2004, when the country raised about $1.7 billion by selling dollar- and euro-denominated bonds.

The ministry announced on June 13 that it will issue yuan-denominated treasury bonds worth 14 billion yuan ($2.12 billion) and dollar-denominated sovereign bonds worth $2 billion overseas in 2017, with the approval of the State Council.

Last year, Bank of China helped the ministry issue yuan-denominated treasury bonds worth 3 billion yuan in London as a global coordinator for the issuance.