The Central government issued RMB 3 billion government bonds in Macao this morning.
Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong said the government bonds’ issuance marks “a new level in the infrastructure standards and capabilities of Macao’s bond market”, which will further promote the local bond market’s development, TDM reported.
Lei attended the issuance ceremony alongside Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng. It was also attended by the Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR, Zheng Xincong, Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in Macao SAR, Liu Xianfa, and Director-General of the Department of Finance of the Ministry of Finance, Wang Kebing.
With the central government’s “strong support for Macao’s modern financial industry”, the city’s “bond market has steadily expanded and the types of bonds have been gradually enriched,” said Lei.
The local government also expects mainland China’s Ministry of Finance to issue government bonds in Macao “regularly” in the future to help create a more attractive bond market, Macao Daily News reported.
Wang said: “The successful issuance of RMB treasury bonds will not only increase the depth of Macao’s bond market but also boost market confidence,” pointing out the Ministry of Finance’s commitment in continuing to strengthen economic and financial cooperation with Macao in accordance with the Central government’s direction.
According to Lin Jingzhen, executive vice president of Bank of China, the sole global coordinator of the Macao issuance of RMB treasury bonds, as of 11 am, today’s issuance of RMB treasury bonds in Macao had reached an order size of over RMB 5 billion.
In July 2019, mainland China issued its first offshore government bond in Macao, denominated in renminbi, with a value of RMB 2 billion, and in 2021, the Guangdong Provincial Government issued RMB 2.2 billion local government bonds in Macao.
As of last month, a total of 132 bonds – worth over MOP 344 billion – have been issued or listed on Chongwa (Macao) Financial Asset Exchange (MOX), the city’s authorised financial asset trading platform, since the local bond market was established in 2018, Macao Daily News reported.
