Chinese property developers rush to print private Panda bonds

Hong Kong

OVERSEAS-INCORPORATED Chinese property developers are joining the rush to issue Panda bonds in an effort to lock in more attractive funding costs in China's onshore market.

Hong Kong-listed Country Garden Holdings, incorporated in the Cayman Islands, led the way at the end of last year with an offering of 1 billion yuan (S$218 million) five-year onshore bonds via an offshore entity. It was issued on the China Securities Regulatory Commission-supervised stock exchange market, instead of the interbank bond market, where five previous Panda bonds, including a sovereign offering from South Korea, were printed after getting the nod from the People's Bank of China.