Sept. 8 (Bloomberg) -- China’s Ministry of Finance said it plans to offer 6 billion yuan ($879 million) of government bonds in Hong Kong for the first time to elevate the “international status” of its currency.
The sale on Sept. 28 to individuals and institutions will encourage acceptance of the yuan for global trade and promote growth of Hong Kong’s fixed-income market, according to a statement from the ministry. China started a trial in July allowing companies in the city and on the mainland accept yuan for payment of goods.
“The move will help expand yuan investment channels outside China and promote cross-border yuan settlement,” said Shi Lei, a Beijing-based analyst at Bank of China Ltd., the nation’s third-largest bank. “It’s an important step in the long-term mission of making the yuan fully convertible.”
China is promoting greater use of the yuan overseas after Premier Wen Jiabao expressed concern in March that the U.S. dollar will weaken, eroding the value of its $2.1 trillion in foreign-exchange reserves. Brazil, Russia and India have also said the world is too reliant on the greenback.
Yuan Appreciation
The yuan is little changed this year against the dollar after rising 21 percent since a fixed rate was scrapped in July 2005 through to Dec. 31, 2008 as China seeks to support exporters. Yuan forwards rose for a sixth day, the longest winning streak in four months. Twelve-month contracts, based on the value of the currency in a year, climbed 0.3 percent to 6.7485 per dollar as of 1:26 p.m. in Shanghai, the highest level since July 28.
The city’s residents have been seeking ways to profit from a stronger Chinese currency. Hong Kong’s yuan deposits increased by 932 million yuan to 54.4 billion yuan in June, official figures show.
Bank of China Ltd., Export-Import Bank of China, Bank of Communications Ltd. and China Construction Bank Corp. are also among Chinese banks that have sold yuan debt in the city.
HSBC Holdings Plc and Bank of East Asia Ltd. sold 6 billion yuan of bonds in Hong Kong this year. HSBC Bank (China) Co., the mainland unit of HSBC, said yesterday it received orders for 4.4 times the amount of debt it planned to sell, allowing it to raise 2 billion yuan. The two-year notes pay an annual interest rate of 2.6 percent compared with 0.8 percent on a one-year deposit in Hong Kong.
Yuan Bond Market
The sale will help “improve the international status of the yuan, promote development of the yuan bond market in Hong Kong, and help provide a pricing benchmark for mainland institutions’ bond sales in Hong Kong,” according to the statement from the Ministry of Finance, which didn’t give the maturities of the securities.
The central bank on July 2 allowed companies in Shanghai and four cities in the southern Guangdong province to settle trade in yuan with businesses in Hong Kong, Macau and the 10- countries of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations. China should expand channels for firms to invest yuan in order for the trial to succeed, Zhang Xiaoming, general manager at the international banking department of Bank of Communications Co., said on July 22 in Shanghai.
“This shows the government is trying to enrich yuan investment products in Hong Kong to facilitate the pilot cross- border settlement program,” said E Yongjian, an analyst at Bank of Communications, the nation’s fifth-largest lender. “It’s obvious the government’s final goal is making the yuan an international currency.”
Government Support
China may sell up to 100 billion yuan of government bonds in Hong Kong over several stages, the city’s English language Standard newspaper reported today before the official announcement was made, citing people it didn’t identify.
Hong Kong is seeking to become an offshore center for the yuan after China’s government in April gave Shanghai until 2020 to become a global financial hub. The issuance announced today is “a new milestone” for developing yuan business in the city, Hong Kong’s government said.
“Six billion yuan is a small amount on the mainland market, but it shows the central government’s support for Hong Kong as an international financial center,” said Zhao Qingming, an analyst at China Construction Bank Corp. in Beijing. “It expands the channels of yuan usage in Hong Kong by offering high-yield, low-risk investment products.”
