A local government financing vehicle from one of China’s most indebted cities enjoyed overwhelming demand for a yuan bond sale, in a sign that Beijing’s fresh efforts to defuse debt risks among regional authorities are reviving demand for such securities.
Tianjin Infrastructure Construction & Investment Group Co. priced a 1.5 billion yuan ($206 million) note due in February 2024 at 4.5%, according to Bloomberg-compiled data. The bond fetched bids totaling more than 70 times its offering size, according to people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity discussing private matters.
The so-called bid-to-cover ratio stands out as it was typically in the single digits for bonds sold by LGFVs from higher-risk areas earlier this year.
Several calls to the company’s representative went unanswered.
The unusually strong appetite for the bond suggests investors are betting that LGFVs will for now remain a relatively safe group of state-linked borrowers as Beijing embarks on a 1 trillion yuan program to help provincial governments repay hidden local debt. While China’s slowing economy and ongoing property crisis have renewed concerns about the health of LGFVs, which are mostly tasked to build infrastructure, the latter have yet to default on public bonds.
Bloomberg News reported last week that China will allow provincial-level governments to use “refinancing bonds” to repay the debt of LGFVs and off-balance sheet issuers. Tianjin is among 12 provinces and cities that Chinese authorities identified as “high-risk” areas that will receive more support.
A 1 billion yuan note issued by Tianjin Infrastructure Construction priced on Aug. 10 received 1.2 times of orders, according to a filing to the Shanghai Clearing House. Another bond of the same size from the issuer priced on Monday was 43 times oversubscribed, a separate filing shows.
