THE 5-billion-yuan (US$783 million) offshore debt offering issued by the Shenzhen Municipal Government was officially listed on Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Wednesday, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported Thursday, quoting a source from the Shenzhen Municipal Finance Bureau.

The listing marked a successful completion of the first offshore RMB bonds issurance by a local government from the Chinese mainland.

Shenzhen issued 5-billion-yuan bonds in Hong Kong on Oct. 11 and this has attracted 89 investor accounts from eight countries and regions, with a total subscription surpassing 17.4 billion yuan and achieving oversubscription ratio of 3.48 times.

The issuance was a landmark step of a local government on the mainland to issue offshore bonds, which not only opened up new financing channels and filled the gap in the issuance of offshore local bonds, but also promoted the joint development of Shenzhen and Hong Kong, the Daily report said.

The bonds were issued with maturities of two, three and five years. Funds raised will be used for the construction of high schools, Metro projects and water treatment projects.

Shenzhen was given the nod last October to issue Chinese yuan-denominated local government bonds overseas within the quotas fixed by the central agencies under the list of 40 comprehensive pilot reforms to carry out building the city into a demonstration area of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

(Han Ximin)