UK first to issue non-Chinese RMB Bond

The U.K. government successfully issued a sovereign bond in China’s currency, the Renminbi (RMB), becoming the first western country to do so and issuing the largest ever non-Chinese RMB bond.

The RMB 3 billion bond, which is the equivalent to approximately £300 million, has a maturity of three years and delivers on the Chancellor’s announcement at the recent annual U.K.-China economic summit in London that the government intended to issue an RMB bond. It is the world’s first non-Chinese issuance of sovereign RMB debt and will be used to finance Britain’s reserves.

Currently, Britain only holds reserves in U.S. dollars, euros, yen, and Canadian dollars, so today’s issuance signals the RMB’s potential as a future reserve currency.