Linklaters has advised the Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China (MOF) on its US$6 billion 144A/Reg S sovereign bonds offering. The transaction was priced on 14 October 2020 and is the first time the MOF has targeted US and global investors in a Rule 144A/Reg S offering.

The hugely successfully deal comprise four series, US$1.25 billion 3-year bonds (yield: 0.425%), US$2.25 billion 5-year bonds (yield: 0.604%), US$2 billion 10-year bonds (yield: 1.226%) and US$500 million 30-year bonds (yield: 2.310%). This issuance has attracted record demand with an order book of nearly 4.7 times the issue size and was priced with negative new issue premium.

Leveraging its unrivalled experience in advising on sovereign bond offerings globally, Linklaters acted as the US, English and Hong Kong SAR legal advisors to the MOF and show cased its capability to provide high-quality advice on US law matters globally. Linklaters has been the international legal advisor to MOF since 2009, providing legal services on all its sovereign bond offerings targeting international investors.

Linklaters’ Capital Markets Partner and Head of China, William Liu, commented

“We are honoured to have been the international legal advisor to the MOF for the last eleven years and take great pride to once again be the only foreign institution that has participated in all of its sovereign bond offerings since 2009. This landmark deal consolidates our position as the market leader in the Capital Markets in China. Linklaters will continue to facilitate the Chinese economic reform and the financial connection between China and the world.”

The Linklaters team was led by Partners William Liu and Hyung Ahn, with support from Counsel, Christian Felton and Senior US Associate, Shan Jiang.