Zhejiang plans $1.37bn bond sale

The Zhejiang government will auction RMB8.7 billion (US$1.37 billion) in bonds on September 21, making it the third provincial-level government to sell bonds this year after Shanghai and Guangdong, The Wall Street Journal reported. Zhejiang said Tuesday it will sell bonds in two tranches, RMB4.35 billion in five-year paper and RMB4.35 in seven-year paper. The Ministry of Finance has sold bonds on behalf of local governments for the last two years. In late 2011, however, Beijing launched a trial program giving the more-developed regions of Guangdong, Shanghai, Shenzen and Zhejiang province the right to issue bonds independently. Beijing has allowed RMB250 billion in local government bonds to be sold this year, up from the RMB200 billion each year for the past three years.