In 2014, Xingyang’s local government financing vehicle (LGFV) obtained National Development and Reform Commission approval to sell 800 million yuan (US$130 million) in bonds. The seven-year bond was issued by Xingyang Urban Investment and Development, which on paper was a corporation but in reality was a local government unit. The Xingyang bond was issued to raise money to build factory premises to rent out and to clear land for sale. It was guaranteed by 10 plots of land with combined value of 1.6 billion yuan, or 200% of the bond value, according to the prospectus. But what the prospectus did not say was that all Xingyang Urban Investment and Development’s board members were local government officials. Its chairman, Li Guixi, was the director of Xingyang’s tax bureau. A recent visit to Xingyang by the South China Morning Post found that five of the 10 plots of land used as collateral were occupied by government agencies including the local Communist Party school and the Xingyang People’s Court.
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