China said Friday it has decided to issue 60 billion yuan (7.5 billion US dollar) worth of certificate treasury bonds with terms of maturity of up to five years next month, the first batch of of its kind to be issued this year.

The T-bonds include 42 billion yuan worth of those with a term of maturity of three years and an annual par interest rate of 3.14 percent, and 18 billion yuan worth of T-bonds with a term of maturity of five years and an annual par interest rate of 3.49 percent, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement.

The T-bonds, whose interest will be calculated from the date of purchase and paid only once at or after the date of maturity, will be issued between March 1 and 31 by designated underwriting institutions, said the ministry.

The ministry said the T-bonds will be available to the general public, who should purchase them at the retailing outlets of members of 37 underwriting institutions selected in 2004 for the issuance of certificate T-bonds.

The underwriters include the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the Agricultural Bank of China, the Bank of China and the China Construction Bank, as well as some share-holding commercial or city banks.

Source: Xinhua