MOF to float $3.5b in local govt bonds

BEIJING - The Ministry of Finance will issue 22.1 billion yuan ($3.51 billion) in bonds on behalf of local overnments on Friday in a bid to ease their financing pressures and boost the slowing economy.

On August 17, the ministry will auction off 22.1 billion yuan in five-year local government bonds on behalf of Tianjin municipality and the city of Xiamen, as well as Jiangxi, Shandong, Henan and Hunan provinces, according to a statement posted on the ministry's website.

The bonds will become tradable on August 24, the statement said.

Local governments are prohibited from issuing bonds directly, with the exception of Shanghai municipality, the Shenzhen special economic zone and the coastal provinces of Zhejiang and Guangdong.