News and Deals
News and Deals
Linklaters acted as the sole international counsel to the Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China (MOF) on its issuance of US$4bn Rule 144A and Reg S sovereign bonds in Hong Kong SAR, listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
This successful transaction has set several new benchmarks:
• This issuance comprised two series of US$2bn bonds in three-year and five-year tenors respectively. The three-year bonds were priced at par with the corresponding US Treasury yield, and the five-year bonds were issued at a spread of just two basis points over equivalent US Treasury yield, which was an unprecedented low for the MOF US dollar sovereign bonds issuances.
• The offering attracted strong demand from a diverse range of international investors such as sovereign investors, banks, insurance companies, funds, asset managers, and dealers across various jurisdictions. The bonds were oversubscribed by 30 times, with the five-year bonds being oversubscribed by 33 times, leading the record for the MOF US dollar sovereign bonds issuances.
• This transaction marked the first offshore sovereign bond issuance by MOF following the establishment of its new debt management department in November 2025. The issuance marked an important move to further consolidate Hong Kong’s role as an international financial hub, providing a key pricing benchmark for offshore financing by Chinese companies.
The multi-disciplinary and cross-jurisdictional Linklaters team was led by capital markets partners William Liu and Min Fang, with support from counsel Christian Felton. US tax counsel Omer Harel and Amanda Gabai also provided support on the transaction.
William Liu, partner at Linklaters, commented:
“As the sole law firm advising on all offshore bond issuances by the MOF and local governments of the PRC for over 15 years, we are honoured to have advised on this strategically significant transaction and to witness the continued progression of China’s offshore sovereign bond offerings. The success of this issuance demonstrates strong confidence from international investors in China’s economic outlook under its commitment to high-level opening-up and high-quality development. We look forward to continuing to leverage Linklaters’ global network to support China’s deepening connectivity with global capital markets.”