China Development Bank issues first Panda bond via Bond Connect

One billion yuan (US$148 million) in bonds underwritten by China Development Bank for Malayan Banking Berhad (MayBank) through China’s Bond Connect program was issued in the interbank bond market recently in form of a three-year RMB-denominated Panda bond, with a nominal interest rate of 4.6 percent.

According to CDB, the funds raised by the bond will be used for Belt and Road Initiative projects, with over 20 percent allocated to foreign buyers.

The bond prospectus and the legal opinion were published in both Chinese and English for the convenience of potential foreign buyers.

The successful issuing of the only Panda bond in the first batch of Bond Connect bonds is expected to promotefinancial agencies’ cooperation and the interconnection of domestic and foreign bond markets.

It also makes CDB the only one among the agencies involved in the first batch of Bond Connect that is assuming two roles: issuer of financial bonds, and principal underwriter of the Panda bond and debenture bonds.

(BELT AND ROAD PORTAL)