IFC, ADB allowed to issue yuan debt

IFC, ADB allowed to issue yuan debt

BEIJING: China's State Council (cabinet) on Wednesday approved
an expected 1.0 billion yuan (US$120 million) yuan-dominated bond
to be jointly issued by the International Finance Corp (IFC) and
the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

No details of the debt issue was given but the Ministry of
Finance said on its website that the debt issue still needed the
approval of the central bank.

The official Xinhua news agency said the approval will mark
the first time that a multilateral group will have been allowed
to issue yuan-denominated bonds in China.

The ADB is planning to issue one billion yuan in debt, an
unnamed ADB official said, without giving more details.

The central bank issued rules early this year allowing foreign
institutions to issue yuan-denominated debt on the domestic
market.

Earlier reports said that the ADB, the IFC and the Japan Bank
for International Cooperation (JBIC) -- a Japanese policy bank
supporting overseas investment -- were among the first batch to
be allowed to issue bonds.

The IFC is the private sector investment arm of the World
Bank. -- AFP