[SHANGHAI] The People's Bank of China (PBOC) sold 20 billion yuan (S$3.98 billion) of bills in Hong Kong on Wednesday, its third sale of offshore yuan bonds in the city.

A 10 billion yuan three-month tranche was priced at a coupon of 3 per cent, while a one-year tranche, also worth 10 billion yuan, came in with a coupon of 3.1 per cent, the central bank said in a statement.

Bids topped 100 billion yuan, and investors included commercial banks, investment banks, central banks, funds and international financing institutions, the PBOC said.

The previous PBOC bill sale in Hong Kong in February also totalled 20 billion yuan, and attracted more than 120 billion yuan worth of bids.

The PBOC sold its first 20 billion yuan batch of yuan-denominated bills in Hong Kong in November, attracting bids of about 75 billion yuan.

REUTERS