Offshore central bank bills see another surge in issuance! 40 billion yuan offering receives enthusiastic reception!

To date, the cumulative issuance of offshore central bank bills in Hong Kong throughout 2025 has reached RMB 320 billion. This round of offshore central bank bill issuance has demonstrated the notable characteristics of ‘steady growth in scale and market recognition’, with its core details conveying clear market signals. In terms of the issuing entity and channels, this issuance was led by the People's Bank of China and completed through the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's CMU system, continuing the established mechanism for the regular issuance of offshore central bank bills. As Hong Kong's core debt instrument settlement platform, the CMU system's efficient operation ensured a smooth and secure issuance process, reflecting deep financial regulatory coordination between the Mainland and Hong Kong.

Regarding issuance parameters, this tranche features a six-month maturity as a short-term liquidity management tool, with an issuance scale of RMB 40 billion – maintaining the medium-to-high level typical for single-tranche issuances in recent years. Notably, market subscription demand exceeded expectations, with the issue oversubscribed by 2.8 times – significantly surpassing typical financial product demand levels. This figure underscores the sustained growth in global investor confidence in RMB assets and reflects the offshore market's pressing demand for high-credit-rated RMB financial products. As premium assets backed by sovereign credit, offshore central bank bills have become a key choice for overseas institutions allocating RMB assets due to their low-risk, stable-return characteristics.

A core value of this substantial offshore central bank bill issuance lies in advancing the completeness of the renminbi yield curve. As a fundamental pricing benchmark for financial markets, the integrity of the yield curve directly impacts the pricing efficiency and market liquidity of various financial products. Through regular, multi-tenure offshore central bank bill issuance in Hong Kong, the central bank has consistently enriched the offshore renminbi financial product spectrum, filling gaps in interest rate pricing across different maturities.

The issuance of this six-month term central bank bill further supplements key nodes in the offshore RMB interest rate curve for medium-to-short-term maturities. Through the continuous and smooth issuance of central bank bills across different maturities, the term structure of offshore renminbi interest rates is steadily improving. This provides a more precise pricing reference benchmark for various renminbi financial products in the offshore market, including loans, bonds, and derivatives. This not only enhances pricing efficiency in the offshore renminbi market but also reduces information asymmetry costs in market transactions. Consequently, it attracts more institutions to participate in offshore renminbi market trading, driving the sustained expansion of market depth and breadth.