China Citic Bank (0998.HK) plans to sell up to RMB30 billion (US$4.7 billion) worth of bonds in Hong Kong, becoming the latest in a series of mainland lenders to raise funds through Hong Kong’s offshore renminbi bond markets, Dow Jones reported. China Construction Bank (CCB; 0939.HK) recently announced it will raise most of its planned US$12 billion in subordinated debt in Hong Kong by the end of 2011. Citic is a midsized mainland lender in which Spain’s Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA; BBVA.MC) has a 15% stake. It said its bonds will have a maturity of no more than five years and that the sale will be completed by the end of 2013. Proceeds will be used for fresh loans and to build up capital. Mainland banks have been issuing renminbi-denominated (“dim sum”) bonds in Hong Kong for several years, but new mainland regulation in the second half of 2010 increased their popularity. Offshore renminbi-denominated bonds totaled over US$10 billion year-to-date, already double the total issuance in 2010.