The Portuguese government sold 2 billion yuan (about US$289 million) worth of three-year bonds denominated in renminbi in its first offering of panda bonds, Lusa reports.
The Portuguese news agency quotes a written statement issued by the government agency concerned as saying demand outstripped supply by 3.2 to one, allowing the agency to lower the annual rate of interest payable to 4.09 percent.
The report says Chinese state-owned Bank of China and British bank HSBC were joint lead underwriters.
The Portuguese government is the first in the euro zone to issue panda bonds, tapping the third-biggest market for debt in the world, Lusa says.
In a separate report, the US business news television channel, CNBC, quotes Portuguese Finance Minister Mário Centeno as saying the panda bond issue is what he called a “positive step” in managing Portuguese external debt in the medium term, allowing his government to expand its sources of borrowing.
