Bloomberg Launches New Offering for Investors of Chinese Dollar Bonds

‘Kungfu Bond’ unveiled as industry name for fast-growing offshore Chinese dollar credit market

Hong Kong – Bloomberg today announced the launch of its new Kungfu bond offering, the industry’s first-ever set of tools for global investors tracking USD-denominated bonds issued by Chinese corporates. This new solution will advance the visibility and accessibility of the offshore Chinese dollar bond market, which saw robust issuance in 2017.

Following consultation and a survey with over 400 market participants across Asia, Bloomberg also unveiled today “Kungfu bond” as the industry reference for offshore U.S. dollar bonds issued by Chinese companies and financial institutions. China dollar bonds doubled in issuance to $214 billion in 2017, among which a record of $148 billion was issued by Chinese corporations, according to Bloomberg data. 80% of surveyed firms are already investing in the Chinese dollar bond market, and almost 30% expect the outlook of the market to overweight in 2018.

“Historic highs in China’s debt capital market are testament to institutional investor confidence in China’s continued economic growth and appetite for Chinese credit exposure,” said Mr. Yuan Shu, Deputy CEO of Bank of China Hong Kong. “We see growing demand for the Kungfu bond market, an important development in China’s expanding offshore bond market.”

Bloomberg’s Kungfu bond offering includes new benchmark yield curves, real-time news on China’s debt capital market and the Bloomberg Barclays Emerging Market (EM) USD Aggregate China index. The new sector-specific yield curves will provide global investors with real-time analysis of the Kungfu bond market, while {NI CHOFFBOND} will serve as the go-to source for real-time news on China’s offshore bond market. The index is a component of the Bloomberg Barclays EM USD Aggregate, allowing investors to understand China USD bond analytics and broad market trends in China.

“The launch of Bloomberg’s Kungfu bond offering provides global investors with in-depth and dedicated data, news and analytics to invest in the offshore Chinese dollar credit market, enabling them to make smarter investment decisions,” said Ee Chuan Ng, Bloomberg’s Head of Greater China. “We are proud to be able to play a role in advancing the Kungfu bond market, and further China’s internationalization of its capital market to global investors.”

Bloomberg has been supporting China’s offshore market development for many years. In 2011, it led the evolution of the new offshore renminbi market by working with regulators and industry to develop the CNH code, in addition to the introduction of the CNH bond listing and bond index.

Infographic: Charting the Growth of Kungfu Bonds
(download the full-sized PDF)

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