China Cinda issues first batch of bonds

BEIJING - China Cinda Asset Management Co announced on Thursday that it has issued 10 billion yuan's ($1.59 billion) worth of bonds on the interbank market as the first batch of bonds floated by an asset management company.

China Cinda, one of China's four asset management companies set up to deal with the toxic assets of State-owned banks, said in a statement that the bonds were sold on the interbank market on October 29, with half of them maturing in three years and the other half in five years.

The three-year bonds offer an annual interest rate of 4.35 percent, while the five-year bonds have an interest rate of 4.65 percent, the statement explained.

China Cinda said it will step up the purchase of both financial and non-financial assets using the money from the bond issuance.

"The issuance is conducive to enhancing Cinda's sustainable profitability and optimizing its asset-liability structure," according to the company.

In 1999, China set up four asset management companies, including Cinda, Huarong, Great Wall and Orient to deal with the toxic assets of the country's four biggest State-owned banks in a bid to help them transform quickly into market-oriented institutions.

In 2010, China Cinda became the first of the four to restructure into a joint-stock company.