As the joint lead underwriter, Bank of China (BOC) helped Pakistan issue its debut Panda Bond on May 14. The bond carries a principal value of RMB 1.75 billion, a maturity of three years and a coupon rate of 2.5%. This marks Pakistan's first entry into China's onshore RMB bond market, as well as the first Panda Bond ever issued in South Asia.

The issuance of the Panda Bond stands as another milestone in financial cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative and serves as solid testimony to the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between the two nations. Boasting an extensive global network and profound expertise in debt capital markets, BOC delivered full-process and professional underwriting and distribution services, ensuring the smooth and efficient completion of the issuance. The bond garnered enthusiastic subscriptions from domestic and international investors, with the oversubscription ratio exceeding five times, reflecting the growing appeal of China's bond market to global investors.

A Panda Bond refers to an RMB-denominated bond issued by overseas institutions in the Chinese mainland. As a pacesetter in the Panda Bond market, BOC has retained the top position among Panda Bond underwriters for 12 consecutive years. Since 2016, BOC has assisted all 19 sovereign Panda Bond issuances worldwide for clients including British Columbia of Canada, Poland, Hungary, the Emirate of Sharjah, the Philippines, Portugal, Egypt, Slovenia, Samruk-Kazyna and Pakistan. The cumulative fundraising volume has surpassed RMB 43 billion, effectively boosting the function of RMB as a global financing currency and international reserve currency.

BOC will continue to leverage its global expertise and comprehensive services, further increase global Panda Bond issuers. It will step up efforts to advance high-level financial opening-up and the international use of RMB, support more real-economy entities from Belt and Road partner countries to access China's capital market, and jointly facilitate mutually beneficial cooperation.