China sees growing 'Panda bond' issuance: central bank

BEIJING - China's "Panda bond" market has seen significant growth with more foreign issuers and a bigger issuance, as the country opens up its onshore bond market, according to a central bank report.

As of the end of July this year, accumulated issuance of Panda bonds, or yuan-denominated debts sold by foreign issuers in China, reached 194 billion yuan ($29.4 billion), the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said in the 2017 Renminbi Internationalization Report.

More types of issuers have entered the market as the Chinese currency gains global recognition, the PBOC said. The issuers have so far included overseas financial institutions, non-financial firms, international development agencies as well as foreign governments.

China has been stepping up efforts in recent years to allow foreign investors wider access into the domestic financial market. A mainland-Hong Kong bond connect program was approved in May this year and allows investors from both sides to trade bonds on each other's interbank markets.

"Northbound" trade, which allows foreign investors to buy bonds issued on the Chinese mainland, started in July.

As China continues to push the yuan's internationalization, analysts expect the Panda bond market to expand further.

The market is expected to surpass 320 billion yuan in 2016-2020, according to the World Bank's International Finance Corporation.