China to float 30b yuan e-saving bonds

BEIJING - China's Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced Sunday that it would issue two more batches of electronic savings bonds totaling 30 billion yuan (about $4.92 billion) in October this year.

One batch worth 18 billion yuan has a term of three years, with a fixed annual interest rate of 5 percent. The other batch of five-year bonds is worth 12 billion yuan at a fixed annual interest rate of 5.41 percent, said a statement on the ministry's website.

The two bonds will be issued from Oct 10 to Oct 19, with interest to be calculated from Oct 10 and paid annually, said the statement.

These bonds are only open to individual investors, the MOF said.

Electronic savings bonds are seen as more convenient than other types of bonds as interest can be paid through direct deposit into investors' accounts.

This is the ninth and the tenth batches of such bonds launched by the ministry this year.

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