(Yicai) May 13 -- Less than a week after Chinese regulators revealed measures to boost sales of sci-tech innovation bonds, more than 70 such offerings have been announced totalling over CNY130 billion (USD18.1 billion), of which banks account for CNY90 billion (USD12.5 billion), according to data from Enterprise Early Warning.

As of yesterday, eight banks have unveiled plans to issue sci-tech bonds, per the corporate risk-tracking platform’s data. They are policy lender China Development Bank, large state-owned commercial lenders Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, and Bank of Communications, joint-stock commercial banks Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Bohai Bank, and Industrial Bank, and city commercial bank Hangzhou Bank

Beijing-based ICBC plans to issue CNY20 billion worth, the most among the eight, with the funds raised going to support lending to scientific and technological innovations and related businesses.

These plans follow a May 7 announcement by the People's Bank of China and the China Securities Regulatory Commission setting out new measures to support the issuance of sci-tech bonds, a type of fixed income aimed at channeling capital into innovative and strategic technology sectors. The measures include diversifying the range of sci-tech bonds and beefing up support mechanisms to provide more diversified funding for innovators.

Interest rates on sci-tech bonds are generally low. For example, ICBC's three-year coupon is only 1.65 percent, compared with the benchmark rate of 2.75 percent for three-year deposits.

In addition to directly issuing these notes, lenders are also actively involved in underwriting for sci-tech businesses or equity investment institutions. ICBC is the lead underwriter for a third of the 36 such projects.

Thanks to regulatory support, the sci-tech bond market will continue to grow, according to experts. Against an “asset shortage” backdrop, sci-tech bond sales will further deepen competition among banks for high-quality resources, so the boom in offerings of these debt instruments will likely continue, at least in the short term, a banking industry researcher told Yicai.

However, some industry insiders point out that during this process, banks must strictly manage project risks, especially in the tech innovation sector, and enforce clear rules on the use of funds by borrowers.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev