Yuan's rising international profile to spur demand at dim sum bond sale
China's planned 12 billion yuan ($1.96 billion) sovereign dim sum bond sale looks set to be as strong as the pace at which global finance hubs are adopting the yuan.
The currency has risen 1.7 percent against the dollar since the Ministry of Finance's last debt sale in Hong Kong on May 21, as the number of cities with clearing banks for its use grew to 11, spanning the globe from Seoul to Doha to Toronto. It was the seventh most-used currency in global payments in September, when direct trading with the euro started in Shanghai. China signed about 545 billion yuan in swap agreements in the second half and the United Kingdom became the first foreign sovereign dim sum issuer.
"China has been setting up more offshore yuan hubs, which generate real demand for bond investments," Frank Huang, head of trading at SinoPac Securities Asia Ltd, said in a Thursday phone interview. "The yuan's recovery and the fact that it's relatively stable are also positive factors for the Ministry of Finance sale."