(Yicai) Oct. 13 -- Sales of so-called panda bonds, yuan-denominated notes sold by foreign issuers in the Chinese mainland, have climbed 62 percent so far this year, according to the latest figures.

Seventy-three panda bonds worth more than CNY126.4 billion (USD17.3 billion) had been sold in China this year as of yesterday, data from Wind Information showed. By comparison, the 52 bonds issued in the whole of last year raised CNY85.1 billion (USD11.7 billion).

Sales have risen quickly because China’s economy has continued to recover and its bond market rates have been generally stable, driving down financing costs for panda bonds, said Fan Ruoying, an analyst at Bank of China's research institute, per a report by Securities Daily today.

The two-way openness of China’s bond market continues to widen, more types of panda bonds are available, the panda bond market’s institutional arrangements have become more complete, and the degree of internationalization has been significantly improved, Fan said.

Another reason for the rapid increase in panda bond sales is the growing demand for yuan assets among overseas institutions as the currency’s internationalization progresses, Fan pointed out.

To promote the market’s development, a pilot project is planned to enhance the pricing and distribution of panda bonds, according to a document released by the National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors on Sept. 19.

In July, the association also began a pilot project to strengthen the system for registering and issuing panda bonds to allow more offshore issuers to benefit from the convenience of debt financing instruments and improve the efficiency of registration and issues from multiple aspects. 

German automaker Volkswagen Group sold a CNY1.5 billion (USD205.3 million) panda bond on Sept. 21, becoming another multinational to enter the Chinese bond market.

Editor: Martin Kadiev