BoCom appointed to handle US$3.1bn dim sum bond issue

China Ministry of Finance to sell the bonds to institutional investors on Aug 17.

China's Ministry of Finance will sell the institutional tranche of its planned CNY20 billion (US$3.1 billion) "dim sum" bond issue on Aug. 17, the ministry said Tuesday.

The MOF said last week it planned to sell CNY15 billion ($2.33 billion) worth of bonds with maturities of three, five, seven and 10 years to institutional investors and CNY5 billion ($777.43 million) worth of two-year bonds to retail investors this month in Hong Kong. The total amount is more than double the size of its previous offering and the biggest yet in the nascent offshore yuan bond market in the city.

The ministry said Tuesday it appointed Bank of Communications Co. to handle the issue.

In its last sovereign bond issue in Hong Kong in November, the ministry sold CNY5 billion ($777.43 million) bonds with maturities of three, five, and 10 years to institutional investors and CNY3 billion ($466.46 million) two year-bonds to retail investors. The ministry sold its first sovereign bond in Hong Kong in September 2009, raising CNY6 billion ($932.86 million).

View the full story in The Wall Street Journal.