AGRICULTURAL Bank of China Ltd.’s Hong Kong unit will issue 2 billion yuan (US$323 million) in yuan-denominated bonds in Taiwan, The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.

    The Hong Kong branch of Agricultural Bank of China (AgBank) plans to issue 1.7 billion yuan in three-year yuan-denominated bonds, or Formosa bonds, at a yield of 3.4 percent, and 0.3 billion yuan in five-year bonds at 3.8 percent, with Taiwan’s CTBC Bank acting as the bond underwriter for the bond sale, the newspaper said, citing an official at Taiwan’s GreTai Securities Market, the island’s bond exchange.

    AgBank had issued 1.25 billion yuan in three-year and 0.25 billion yuan in five-year yuan-denominated bonds in December 2013. In the previous bond sale, the bank sold the three-year bonds at a yield of 3.30 percent and five-year bonds at 3.60 percent, the newspaper said.

    The official said other mainland banks that have already issued yuan bonds in Taiwan since December will likely follow suit and issue more yuan bonds later this year.

    (SD-Agencies)