Local gov'ts issue bonds worth 418 b yuan in January

BEIJING -- China's local authorities raised a total of 418 billion yuan (about $62.31 billion) through bond issuance last month.

The amount of bond issuance hit a monthly record high, according to financial information provider Wind Info.

All of the month's bond issuance occurred within the last two weeks, with bonds worth about 140 billion yuan issued in the last day of the month, Wind Info said.

Specifically, new bonds amounted to about 369 billion yuan, while refinancing bonds stood at about 49 billion yuan, said Liu Yu, an analyst with Guosheng Securities.

Central authorities has assigned 1.39 trillion yuan worth of bonds to local governments ahead of schedule for this year, accounting for 63 percent of the total new debt quota in 2018.

In light of the pace in January, most of the bond issuance is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter, Liu said.

The bond issuance will be used to finance projects under construction and other major projects of transportation, water conservation and environmental protection.