HONG KONG - HSBC plans to sell 2 billion yuan ($317 million) renminbi senior bonds in London with a yield of 3 percent, the biggest bank in Europe by market value said in an emailed press release here Thursday.

It is the first international renminbi-denominated bond to be sold outside China's sovereign territories.

The transaction closed with a book size in excess of two times the issue size, seeing very strong demand from both European and Asian investors with over half of the allocation going into European accounts, according to the statement.

Spencer Lake, co-head of Global Markets at HSBC, said in the statement that: "We are delighted to have priced this trade which shows the bank's commitment to broadening the renminbi investor base".

"We are confident that this will open the market to other European and non-European issuers looking to fund themselves internationally in renminbi and help contribute to this rapidly developing market."

Currently, the offshore renminbi bonds are issued in Hong Kong.