Bank of China is set to become the first mainland Chinese lender to sell US dollar bonds directly to US investors, as it begins marketing Basel III-compliant debt to global fund managers.
BoC’s bond sale, from which it is planning to raise around $3bn, will meet regulatory requirements for US investors, known as “144a”. Preliminary pricing suggests a yield of around 300 basis points over comparable US Treasuries, according to a termsheet seen by the Financial Times.
BoC is rated “A” by all three of the main rating agencies, although the bonds themselves will likely carry a “BBB+” rating due to the legal complexities involved with a Chinese company issuing debt offshore.