To be sure, the issuances of panda bonds in the China Interbank Bond Market surged by 70% y-o-y to hit a record RMB140 billion ($26.2 billion) in 2023. DBS itself has been the most active foreign bank for panda bonds in the China Interbank Bond Market since 2021. In 2023, DBS China was the joint lead underwriter for RMB16.5 billion – or over 10% of the total panda bonds issued that year. Panda bonds are renminbi-denominated debt that’s issued in China’s onshore market by non-Chinese companies, governments and organisations.
DBS China has received a licence from China’s National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors to underwrite debt financing instruments for non-financial enterprises, including foreign issuers, in the China Interbank Bond Market. This makes DBS the first Southeast Asian-headquartered bank to receive the licence.
The move comes as foreign issuers are increasingly tapping the Chinese bond market, which is the second-largest in the world.
