BEIJING, May 13 (Xinhua) -- The Industrial Bank Co., Ltd., a Chinese joint-stock commercial bank, said it successfully issued on Tuesday its first batch of sci-tech innovation bonds on the inter-bank market with the funds raised to support lending toward scientific and technological innovations and related businesses.
The bonds' issuance amounted to 10 billion yuan (1.39 billion U.S. dollars) in scale with a maturity period of three years and an interest rate of 1.66 percent, according to the bank, adding that the issuance received an oversubscription rate of 2.9 times.
The bank's issuance came days after the country's regulatory bodies unveiled supportive measures to boost sci-tech innovation bond issuance. The People's Bank of China (PBOC), China's central bank, and the China Securities Regulatory Commission announced initiatives last week to diversify the range of sci-tech bond products and strengthen supporting mechanisms.
The measures also included expanding the scope of eligible sci-tech bond issuers to also include commercial banks, securities firms, and financial asset investment companies.
According to preliminary figures from the PBOC, nearly 100 market entities are preparing to issue more than 300 billion yuan's worth of sci-tech innovation bonds, with further participation expected in the future. ■
