(Yicai) May 15 -- Sales of so-called panda bonds, yuan-denominated notes sold by foreign issuers in the Chinese mainland, reached CNY62.2 billion (USD8.6 billion) in the first four months of the year, according to the latest figures.

The panda bond market has continuously improved in quality and expanded in scale over recent years, thanks to favorable policies and market conditions, with the latest sales figures highlighting global capital's confidence in and preference for yuan assets.

The International Finance Corporation and the Asian Development Bank issued the first batch of panda bonds in the interbank bond market in October 2005, with the market's steady growth continuously driven by a series of proactive policies. Sales of such bonds reached a record of nearly CNY195 billion (USD27.1 billion) last year, while their outstanding balance topped CNY319.3 billion.

Panda bonds have become a key yuan financing channel for international institutions, including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the New Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Hungarian and Egyptian governments, and Mercedes-Benz, BMW Group, Volkswagen Group, and BASF.

The market's accelerated growth stems from financing cost advantages and continuously optimized institutional arrangements, according to industry experts. Funds raised through panda bonds can be used for many purposes, including project construction, business development, and overseas operations, providing issuers with low-cost capital for international expansion, they noted.

China has deepened its high-level financial opening-up, with increasing innovation in the panda bond market, more internationalized institutional arrangements, and greater convenience in fund utilization, said Pan Gongsheng, governor of the country's central bank. China welcomes more Latin American countries to issue panda bonds and share in the market development opportunities, he added.

Editor: Martin Kadiev