Linklaters acted as the international legal advisor of the Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China (MOF) on its offshore issuance of RMB6bn sovereign green bonds, marking the Chinese central government’s first-ever sovereign green bonds issuance.
The issuance comprised two tranches, including 3-year and 5-year bonds with a coupon rate of 1.88% and 1.93% respectively, each in RMB3bn. Both tranches have been listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited and admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange’s International Securities Market, and are cleared through the Central Moneymarkets Unit in Hong Kong SAR.
These green bonds are issued under the People’s Republic of China Sovereign Green Bond Framework, which was released in February 2025. The framework provides standardised and transparent operational guidelines for the offshore issuance of sovereign green bonds by the MOF. Backed by sovereign credits and aligned with environmental goals, this issuance diversified RMB-denominated bonds in the international market and saw strong demand from international investors.
This transaction marks another milestone in the PRC government's efforts to promote green transition and the RMB internationalisation. It is expected to provide guidance for more PRC issuers to adhere to both the international standards and the domestic green finance guidelines in their green bonds issuances, as well as to attract international capital into the green financial sector, expanding the financing options for China’s green transition projects.
This transaction also represents a significant move to further deepen the cooperation between China and the United Kingdom in green finance. The Linklaters cross-jurisdictional team (based across Hong Kong, Beijing and London), provided high-quality and seamless services throughout the preparation of all transaction documents, liaising with the CMU, and dual listings in London and Hong Kong SAR, among others.
The deal team was led by Asia Managing Partner
William Liu and capital markets partner
Min Fang, supported by capital markets partner
Arjun Muddu, and associates
Youming Wu,
Shuhan He, and
Mandy Kan.
Linklaters has advised on all the MOF’s sovereign bond offerings targeting international investors since 2009, as its international legal advisor. On the green finance front, some of our groundbreaking transactions include advising on
the world’s first multicurrency digital green bonds issuance and
the world’s first tokenised green bonds offering by a governmental entity for the Hong Kong SAR government.