BC makes second Panda Bond issue

The Canadian province of British Columbia made its second yuan-denominated bond issue of 1 billion yuan ($151 million) in the Chinese market on Wednesday, supporting the development of the domestic interbank market while anticipating a further opening of the financial sector.

This three-year Panda Bond, which matures in November 2020, is priced at a coupon rate of 4.8 percent. Bank of China and HSBC Holdings Ltd are the two joint-lead underwriters of the offering.

The bond has been almost twice-oversubscribed by both domestic and foreign investors, indicating market confidence in the province's economy and the further internationalization of China's bond market, the world's third-largest, Jim Hopkins, assistant deputy minister of the British Columbia Provincial Treasury, Ministry of Finance in Canada, said on Thursday in Beijing.