Local govt debt issuance accelerates

Chinese local governments issued debt worth 378.89 billion yuan ($55.26 billion) last week, a record high weekly issuance amount for the country, according to data from financial information servicer Wind Info.

This came after the surge in local government debt issuance in August and July, said the Ministry of Finance on Friday. The country issued local government bonds worth 883 billion yuan in August and 757 billion yuan in July, with the two-month aggregate exceeding the first six months' 1.41 trillion yuan.

The accelerated issuance in local government debt was mainly due to special-purpose bonds, debts financing specific public-interest projects. August saw the issuance of 428.75 billion yuan worth of special-purpose bonds for new projects, a jump of 293 percent month-on-month and 217 percent year-on-year, according to the ministry.