Guangdong’s Department of Finance plans to issue up to 2.5 billion yuan’s worth of offshore yuan-denominated bonds in Macao, plus an additional 5 billion yuan’s worth in Hong Kong, the South China Morning Post reports.
The upcoming issuances of so-called ‘dim sum’ bonds will be the Guangdong provincial government’s fourth issuance in Macao, but first in Hong Kong.
In a notice issued on Monday, the authority noted that these latest five-year bonds would “further promote the integrated development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area”.
[See more: Macao plans to grow its bond market, Chief Executive tells lawmakers]
Guangdong is not the only part of China issuing dim sum bonds. For example, the Shenzhen municipal people’s government and the Hainan provincial government both recently issued offshore yuan bonds in Hong Kong, while the central government issued sovereign bonds worth 5 billion yuan in Macao last September.
Dim sum bonds are part of China’s attempt to internationalise the nation’s currency. The first offshore yuan-denominated bond was issued in Hong Kong in 2007, by the China Development Bank.
Macao’s government is actively working to grow the local bond market, with financial services forming a key part of the SAR’s plan to diversify its economy and reduce its dependence on gaming.
