HONG KONG -  The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) welcomed the announcement by the China Development Bank (CDB) on its issuance of renminbi bonds in Hong Kong through the bond tendering platform of the Central Moneymarkets Unit (CMU) of the HKMA.

An HKMA spokesperson said Wednesday that CDB will be the first Mainland financial institution to make use of the CMU platform to issue renminbi bonds. It signifies a continual deepening of financial cooperation between the Mainland and Hong Kong, and widening of channel and enhancement of methodology and environment for the issuance of renminbi bonds in Hong Kong.

"We look forward to seeing more issuers to make use of the CMU platform to issue renminbi bonds in the offshore renminbi market," said the spokesperson.

The CMU is operated by the HKMA. It serves as a platform for tendering, clearing and settlement of bonds.

China Development Bank Corporation (CDB) said Wednesday that CDB proposes to issue RMB bonds in Hong Kong through the CMU BID service for the first time.

According to a CDB release, the financial institution signed the "Acceptance of the Terms and conditions and the Operating Procedures in relation to the CMU BID"on Wednesday, marking further expansion of its RMB bonds issuance channels in Hong Kong.

CDB said that in 2011 CDB will be approved to issue RMB bonds in Hong Kong with the principal amount up to 6 billion yuan ($0.95 billion). The quota is valid for a year from the date of approval.

As a quasi-sovereign rating issuer, CDB was the first Mainland bank to issue RMB bonds in Hong Kong. The aggregate amount of RMB bonds issued by CDB in Hong Kong is 13 billion yuan ($2.06 billion).

This time CDB is planning to issue bonds through both CMU BID and book building methods in early 2012 subject to market condition.

Gao Jian, Executive Vice President of CDB, said, "CDB takes the initiative to issue RMB bonds through CMU BID as the first mainland financial institution. This is a positive exploration in the mechanism of bonds issuance and is a meaningful measure to facilitate market development."

"In the future CDB will continue to issue bonds through CMU BID and fulfill its commitment to promoting offshore RMB business by leveraging on its sound market performance and innovative capabilities," he added.