World Bank issues first renminbi bond sale in HK

The bank’s entry into the renminbi bond market will permit investors to diversify their currency holdings and expand their renminbi exposure.

The World Bank announced its first yuan-denominated bond sale yesterday as it hopes to diversify investors' currency holdings and increase the exposure of the yuan.

The 500 million yuan (US$75.4 million), two-year fixed-rate bond, due on January 14, 2013, offers investors a semi-annual coupon of 0.95 percent.

It is the first yuan bond issuance this year in Hong Kong. It is also the World Bank's first yuan bond ever, the Washington-based bank said in a press statement.

The entry of the World Bank into the yuan bond market will further deepen the market and permit investors to diversify their currency holdings and expand their yuan exposure, the bank said.

It also said the World Bank's global reputation could help attract the attention of international investors who have not previously invested in the yuan.

Doris Herrera-Pol, global head of capital markets at the World Bank, said the move signals the bank's strong interest in supporting the development of the yuan market.

View the full story in China.org.