Deacons acted on PRC RMB sovereign bond offering in HK

At the end of last year, Deacons acted on the Renminbi sovereign bond offering in Hong Kong by the Ministry of Finance of the People's Republic of China. Kevin Tong and his team represented a syndicate of Joint Lead Managers comprising Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, Agricultural Bank of China Limited Hong Kong Branch, Bank of Communications Co., Ltd. Hong Kong Branch, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia) Limited and China Construction Bank (Asia) Corporation Limited. Of the RMB10 billion bonds issued by the Ministry of Finance, RMB7 billion (comprising RMB5 million 2.60% three-year bonds and RMB2 billion 3.09% five-year bonds) were issued to institutional investors in November 2013 using a tender method on the Central Moneymarkets Unit of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and RMB3 billion 2.80% two-year bonds were issued to retail investors in December 2013. The sovereign bonds are listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited. This transaction marks the first time that retail investors are able to apply for the bonds through Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company Limited and securities brokers. Previously, placing banks were the only application channel for retail investors. We are pleased and honoured to have acted on this recent mandate.