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Municipal bonds issuance possible: central banker

By Bi Xiaoning and Zheng Lifei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-07-04 11:41

Special Coverage: 2009 Global Think Tank Summit Related readings:  MOF: China to float 29.12b yuan T-bonds next week  China to complete 200b yuan local govt bond issues next month  China approves more corporate bond issuance in Q1

China is considering letting local governments issue municipal bonds to help bankroll urban infrastructure construction, the central bank chief said on Saturday.

"Relevant rules are in discussion and debate about the issue is very heated," Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China, said at a conference in Beijing.

"Personally, I prefer to give it [municipal bonds issuance] the green light," Zhou said.

The issuance of municipal bonds, he added, will help address two pressing problems at present: one is that the new local administration will sometimes turn a blind eye to the debt left over by its predecessors; the other is the lack of rating service on local government bonds.