2019 local government bond issuance could total US$630bn
12 January, 2019
The scale of local government bond issuance is expected to be around 4.3 trillion yuan (US$630 billion) in 2019, as China aims to boost infrastructure investment to support economic growth, Securities Daily reported.
The State Council has moved forward the schedule of local government bond issuance. It has ordered local governments to finish issuing 1.39 trillion yuan of bonds by the end of September.
Previously, the bond issuance quota was normally unveiled around May, which led to heavy local government bond issuance during the second half of the year.
Judging from the current economic situation, the PMI is already below the break-even mark of 50% and has fallen into contraction territory. As downward pressure on the economy increases, there is an urgent need to stimulate infrastructure investment, said Liu Chenhan, an analyst at Northeast Securities.
Local governments’ financing support for infrastructure projects has gradually weakened against the backdrop of the crackdown on the shadow banking sector. Thus, the State Council hopes to stabilize infrastructure investment with more bonds, Liu said.