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