China’s new special bonds issued by local governments this year amounted to RMB 3.3822 trillion ($0.48 trillion) as of September 8, accounting for 76.9 percent of the overall target of RMB 4.4 trillion for the whole year, as reported by local financial media.
In the corresponding period last year, China’s new special bonds issued by local governments had amounted to RMB 2.5714 trillion.
In addition to the accelerating pace of issuance, many regions are exploring channeling the new special bonds into government investment funds.
The special bonds are encouraged for the support of forward-looking and strategically emerging industries, but only for infrastructure development, while they cannot be used in general competitive sectors.