China's government is preparing to sell at least 1.6 billion dollars of bonds denominated in dollars and euros, probably in October, reported China Radio International Tuesday.

This is the second such offering in a year.

Export-Import Bank of China sold 1 billion dollars of bonds this year.

China Development Bank may sell a similar amount of dollar-and euro-denominated bonds in September.

The government may sell as much as 800 million euros or 970 million dollars of bonds, double its last sale.

Holding more euros would support future plans to value the yuan against a basket of currencies as opposed to its current peg to the dollar.

The government hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Merrill Lynch & Co. and Morgan Stanley to underwrite the dollar sale, and BNP Paribas SA, Deutsche Bank AG and UBS AG for the euro offering.