Local Authorities To Quicken Special Bond Sales In February

Local governments will likely accelerate the issuance of special bonds to fund the construction of major projects, as the pace of issuance in January slowed compared to the same period over the last two years. A total of CNY56.8 billion of new special bonds were issued in January, mainly invested in municipal and industrial park infrastructure and rail transportation. While the issuance in February is expected to reach CNY159.9 billion. The issuance of additional CNY1 trillion of treasury bonds in Q4 2023 for transfer payment to local governments had increased disposable fiscal resources and crowded out some local bonds at the beginning of the year, analysts said. (Source: China Securities Journal)