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Bonds for Three Gorges Project Issued
The China Yangtze Three Gorges Project Development Corp (CTGPC) Tuesday issued 3 billion yuan (US$360 million) in registered bonds to help pay for the Three Gorges hydropower project.
The 10-year enterprise bonds are priced at floating rate annually, the first of its kind in China.
The coupon rate of the bonds is 1.75 percentage points higher than the annual interest rate of a one-year bank deposits.
A CTGPC official said the floating rate pricing method, which is better suited for investors to avoid the risk of interest, is a significant innovation in China's enterprise bonds market.
The bonds also offer good fluidity because they will soon be traded on the Shanghai Securities Exchange, the official said.
The bonds are awarded an AAA rating, the country's highest bond rating.
The Ministry of Finance recently approved the Three Gorges Construction Fund to provide guarantees for the bonds.
Thanks to the Three Gorges Construction Fund raised by the Chinese Government annually, CTGPC has strong repayment and guarantee capacity.
The bonds are expected to fill the investment gap for the construction of the Three Gorges project this year.
According to the official, total capital demand for the project in 2000 will reach 14.3 billion yuan (US$1.72 billion). The expected capital channels include the Three Gorges Construction Fund, loans from the State Development Bank and domestic commercial banks, and bonds.
CITIC (China International Trust Investment Corp) Securities Co Ltd is the lead underwriter of the bonds. Six other financial companies are also underwriters.
Before this bonds, CTGPC issued two rounds of bonds, 1 billion yuan (US$120 million) in 1996 and 2 billion yuan (US$240 million) in early 1999.
With a total investment of 203.9 billion yuan (US$24.57 billion), the Three Gorges hydropower plant is expected to generate 84.7 billion kilowatts annually after its completion in 2009.
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