BEIJING - China's Ministry of Finance (MOF) said Friday it will sell 10 billion yuan ($1.53 billion) in book-entry discount treasury bonds next week at an annual interest rate of 2.55 percent.

The short-term bonds will carry a maturation term of 91 days and be issued on a discount basis at the price of 99.383 yuan for each bill with a face value of 100 yuan. The price was set through a competitive tender on Friday morning, the MOF said in a statement.

The selling period of the bonds will last from April 18 to 20 and become tradable on the securities markets on April 22.

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This is the first time for the ministry to issue this type of bond this year.

The ministry also announced Friday that it will issue another 20 billion yuan of the year's first batch book-entry treasury bonds at a fixed annual interest rate of 2.81 percent.

However, these bonds will be issued at the price of 100.781 yuan for each bill with a face value of 100 yuan, it said.

The ministry issued its first batch of one-year book-entry treasury bonds in January this year, with a total face value of 30 billion yuan. The continued issuance will bear the same interest rates and interest calculation period as the January issue, said the ministry.