China starts credit default swap trading to lessen bond risks

BEIJING - Ten Chinese financial institutions, mostly banks, have conducted the first batch of credit default swap (CDS) transactions.

A total of 15 transactions were made in the interbank market with a combined nominal principal at 300 million yuan ($45 million) on Monday, the National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors said Tuesday in an online statement.

The "Big Four," China's four largest state-owned banks, and major commercial banks were among the institutions.

In one or two year terms, the transactions covered oil, electricity, water, coal, telecommunication, food and aviation.

CDS is a credit derivative product used to control risk from bond defaults which are increasing due to a prolonged economic downturn.

The demand for CDS is increasing as default risks grow, a report from China Bond Rating Co said.

China's Dongbei Special Steel went bankrupt last month after failing to repay its debts of several billion yuan nine times.