Slovenia plans to issue up to RMB 5 billion ($700 million) of “panda bonds” next year as part of a strategy to further open up its economy amid intensifying trade tensions and industrial policy shifts in the US and China, reports the Financial Times. “We want to expand the investor base,” Slovenian finance minister Klemen Boštjančič told the Financial Times during a recent visit to Beijing, where he laid out plans to issue renminbi-denominated sovereign debt sold in China.
Slovenia, a Eurozone member, is among a handful of countries to issue panda bonds—a format more commonly used by multinational companies. The move signals a desire to forge closer links with Beijing despite pressure from US President Donald Trump for Europe to take a tougher stance on China.
But Boštjančič said smaller countries such as his were much more exposed to the global trade disruptions caused by Washington’s “unprecedented” tariffs and Beijing rolling out sweeping export controls on critical raw materials.