China central bank hires banks for its debut dim sum bond in London-term sheet

[HONG KONG] China’s central bank has hired banks to arrange its debut offshore yuan bond issuance in London, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters on Monday.

The so-called dim sum bond sale comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping prepares for a state visit to Britain this week.

Sources have told Reuters the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) plans to issue up to 5 billion yuan (S$1.09 billion) of one-year bills in London.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and HSBC are joint global coordinators of the deal, the term sheet showed.

The two banks, together with Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, Bank of Communications, China Construction Bank and Standard Chartered are joint bookrunners and lead managers.

The purpose of the bond sale is to increase supply of high quality bonds in the offshore yuan market to meet the yuan investment, trading and liquidity management needs of international investors.

China is stepping up efforts to have its currency included in the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights basket by selling a slew of offshore yuan bonds beyond Hong Kong.

Two state-owned banks – China Construction Bank and Agricultural Bank of China – completed bond issuances in London last week.