China started to issue 30 billion yuan (about 3.75 billion U.S. dollars) worth of book-entry treasury bonds on Thursday, the third batch of its kind issued this year and the last batch in the first quarter.

The ten-year T-bonds carry an annual interest rate of 3.4 percent, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement.

The bonds will be sold via the national inter-bank bond market, the stock market and commercial banks between March 22 and March 27, and will be available for trading on the stock market and over the counters of designated commercial banks as of April 2.

The ministry said the T-bonds were available to investors with accounts for investments in funds, shares and bonds at China Securities Depository and Clearing Co., China Treasury Bonds Depository and Clearing Co. or the designated commercial banks.

China issued 30 billion yuan in book-entry treasury bonds on February 5, 30 billion yuan in certificate T-bonds on March 1 and 26 billion yuan in book-entry T-bonds on March 14 this year.

The purchasers of certificate T-bonds must use their real names to buy the bonds, which can be mortgaged for loans but not transferred.

China issued book-entry treasury bonds totaling 652.72 billion yuan in 2006, 150 billion yuan more than in 2005.

The Chinese government pledged earlier this year to cut the issuance of treasury bonds in 2007 by a "modest" amount, in a bid to reduce its financial deficit and expand channels for direct financing.

Source: Xinhua