British Columbia looking to issue offshore RMB bonds

Canada's British Columbia embarked on a one-week roadshow on Monday to promote offshore renminbi bond issuances in Hong Kong and Singapore.

The event is meant to gauge investor interest in bonds issued in China's currency.

At a minimum, the province plans to have 500 million yuan ($80.17 million) worth of bonds issued in the offshore renminbi market. The offering will take place in January at the earliest, said Jim Hopkins, assistant deputy minister at the British Columbia Ministry of Finance.

If the province does issue bonds in the offshore renminbi market, it will mark the first time a foreign government has used this new and increasingly popular means to raise capital.

"We want to promote stronger relations between British Columbia, Canada and China, and we see potential in accessing a new source of global liquidity," Hopkins said.

Officials from China's central bank and the Chinese Ministry of Finance are showing support for the renminbi bond issuance, he said.

The money raised will be used to support spending on public utilities, schools and hospitals, the Canadian official said.

"The bonds will be issued globally, as an increasing number of international investors are paying more attention to the (offshore renminbi) market," he added. A large number of the potential investors will hail from Asia, according to a report from the British Columbia Ministry of Finance.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority said more than 500 billion yuan worth of renminbi deposits were held in Hong Kong in 2012, up from 63 billion yuan in 2009. That increase has been driven largely by the fast development of yuan-denominated trade settlement.

In 2011, the offshore renminbi market expanded 5.5 fold, becoming 22 times larger than it was when it was established in 2007. Since 2010, more than 250 billion yuan worth of renminbi bonds, also known as dim sum bonds, have been issued.

The main types of offshore renminbi investors include commercial and private banks, fund managers, insurance companies and corporate treasuries.

Most of them are from Hong Kong and Singapore, and more are coming from Taiwan, Europe and North America. The largest pool of renminbi liquidity is now in Asia, and the investors are playing an important role in gauging market interest and in price discovery.

The Canadian province's interest in the offshore renminbi market stems from its support for internationalizing the Chinese currency, a goal that can only be achieved if an efficient, liquid and global bond market is well developed, Hopkins said.

Mark Kruger, the minister counsellor of the Embassy of Canada, said the gradual opening of China's capital account will provide mutually beneficial opportunities to Chinese and global financial markets.

Competing in the global market will make Chinese financial institutions stronger, Kruger said. Eventually, a world-class financial services industry will be established amid the country's continued economic opening-up, he said.

Hopkins was likewise optimistic.

"We see the outstanding potential of the (offshore renminbi) market for future growth, and there are benefits from being an early entrant," he said.

"We welcome the opportunity to determine if we can be the first international government to forge a business relationship with this fast-emerging capital market and help establish a new relationship with China through the financial markets."

China now receives 15 percent of British Columbia's exports, making it the second-largest recipient of those exports in the world.

In 2011, the value of the Canadian province's exports to China was $4.84 billion, constituting 30 percent of Canada's total exports to the country.