Finance ministry to auction yuan bonds in HK

    CHINA’S Ministry of Finance will auction a total of 28 billion yuan (US$4.51 billion) in yuan-denominated bonds in Hong Kong this year, a statement posted on the ministry’s website said Tuesday.

    The first tranche of 14 billion yuan will be auctioned next Wednesday and the second will be auctioned in the second half of the year, with the specific date to be announced later. Last year, the ministry issued an identical amount of yuan debt in Hong Kong. The ministry first began issuing yuan debt in Hong Kong in 2009, to aid the development of the off-shore yuan debt market.

    Jiangsu to restart bond auctions

    EAST China’s Jiangsu Province will restart a delayed plan May 18 to sell bonds worth 52.2 billion yuan (US$8.41 billion), according to a notice posted on a major Chinese bond issues website Tuesday.

    This amount is lower than the original 64.8 billion yuan bonds, originally slated to be issued April 23, but then postponed. Jiangsu, China’s first province to launch municipal bonds, will issue 10.44 billion yuan worth of three-year bonds, 15.66 billion yuan of five-year, 15.66 billion yuan of seven-year bonds and 10.44 billion yuan of 10-year bonds, according to the notice.

    China Railway wins Russian rail contract

    CONSTRUCTION firm China Railway Group Ltd. has won a 2.4 billion yuan (US$390 million) contract to build a high-speed railway line in Russia connecting Moscow with the city of Kazan.

    The company, which is aiming to expand its business overseas after years of building China’s railway network at home, said in a regulatory filing yesterday it expects to complete the project before the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. Kazan, in west-central Russia, is one of the venues for the soccer tournament. Russian foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said earlier this month that China had offered to provide 300 billion roubles (US$6 billion) in financing for the high-speed rail project.

    Zhuhai Blue Ocean seeks US$1b in IPO

    MAINLAND hospital investment firm Zhuhai Blue Ocean Strategy Medical Co. plans to raise about US$1 billion in a Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) in the third quarter, sources familiar with the situation said, making it the latest company to tap into rising demand for better health care among China’s growing middle class.

    The Guangdong Province-based hospital operator and investor plans to submit an application for listing approval to Hong Kong’s stock exchange in June, the sources said.