China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) approved Thursday a record corporate bond issue valued at 99.2 billion yuan (12.9 billion U.S. dollars).

This is the largest corporate bond issue the commission has approved in a day since it began the operation.

An official with the NDRC said that there would be no limit on the value of bonds to be issued this year and all would depend on the market.

He estimated that more corporate bonds will be issued this year because the bond market is underdeveloped in China.

The country's corporate bond issues exceeded 100 billion yuan (about 13 billion U.S. dollars) in 2006 and it could approach 200 billion yuan (26 billion U.S. dollars) this year, according to insiders.

"We can see that the government is determined to develop the bond market as they have simplified the examination procedures and loosened control on the value," said a broker.
At present, corporate bonds are bought by mid- and long-term investors such as insurance companies and social security institutions which have state-owned commercial banks as guarantees, said an official with China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC).

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