HK govt launches ground-breaking inaugural retail bonds

The government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has Wednesday launched its inaugural retail bond offering comprising two Hong Kong dollar retail tranches.

The retail bond offering, which opens Thursday at 9:00 a.m., ispart of an inaugural global bond offering of up to 20 billion HongKong dollars (2.56 billion US dollars).

The global bond offering comprises three parts. A US dollar-denominated institutional tranche of ten year notes, two Hong Kongdollar-denominated institutional tranches of five-year notes and 15-year notes, tow Hong Kong dollar-denominated retail tranches oftwo-year bonds and four-year bonds to be offered to Hong Kong retail investors.

The subscription period for the retail tranches closes at 2:00 p.m. July 16.

Speaking at the retail bond offering launch ceremony, the Financial Secretary of the HKSAR Henry Tang said:" This is a ground-breaking transaction, and one that gives retail investors an opportunity to invest for the future of Hong Kong."

"With the government bonds offered to both retail investors and institutional investors, this offering will help further extend the capabilities of our local capital market and reinforce the prominent position of Hong Kong as an international financial center." He said.

The yield for the retail bonds will be fixed and benchmarked to Exchange Fund Notes rates. A semi-annual coupon will be paid to investors starting after the first six months.

Source: Xinhua