Special Bond Issuance Up In August

China issued 174 new special bonds in August worth CNY476.7 billion, more than double July’s CNY196.2 billion, according to Securities Daily. Wang Qing, chief macro analyst at Dongfang Jincheng, said authorities had postponed issuance of some bonds from July into August under the expectation of lower interest rates. Authorities should now use government spending to attract private investment into major infrastructure projects, which will alleviate local government debt and boost market confidence, Wang said. Between January-July, infrastructure investment increased by 6.8% y/y, 3.4 pp higher than overall fixed-asset investment. (Source: Securities Daily)