HSBC Bank (China) Company Limited announced on Thursday the launch of the first floating rate Renminbi bond in Hong Kong, becoming the first locally incorporated foreign bank issuing RMB bonds in the city.

The bond, issued by HSBC Bank (China) to institutional investors, has a total issue size of RMB 1 billion yuan. The two- year RMB floating rate bond has been priced at 38 basis points over the three month Shanghai Interbank Offered Rate (SHIBOR) and is payable quarterly.

"While HSBC China is extremely liquid and strongly capitalized, through this bond issue we seek to support the development of Hong Kong's RMB market and to help establish a representative pricing benchmark," said Vincent Cheng, Chairman of HSBC Bank (China).

Both HSBC Bank (China) and Bank of East Asia's China unit said last month that they had been granted an approval to issue RMB- denominated bonds in Hong Kong.

(Xinhua News Agency June 26, 2009)