On June 28, the Zhongguancun Development Group (ZDG), a large State-owned corporate in Beijing, held a media briefing to inform the public of its latest-issued corporate bonds.

After the China Securities Regulatory Commission approved its 7 billion yuan bond insurance plan, ZDG sold the first batch of Zhongguancun corporate bonds on June 27. These were five-year bonds valued at 2 billion yuan with a coupon rate of 3.38 percent and are issued to raise finance for the tech-innovation business in the Zhongguancun demonstration zone.

Over 40 investment companies submitted tenders for subscription, creating accumulating bids worth 8.76 billion yuan, making the issuing rate the lowest in the Group’s bond financing history. This also makes the coupon rate the lowest among all the bonds issued in the Shanghai Stock Exchange in June.

The popularity of the bonds shows the capital market’s confidence in Zhongguancun, although the market is experiencing a high level of premium and while being disturbed by defaults.

Until now, the overall bonds in Zhongguancun, including the private placement bond for public rental housing, enterprise collective bond, corporate bond and medium term note, have a total issuing worth equaling 5 billion yuan. These finance projects have received strong support from the Beijing municipal government, as its main purpose is to create more access to finance and to optimize the financial structure in high-tech development zones.

ZDG was established to accelerate the development of Zhongguancun National Autonomous Innovation Demonstration Zone by setting up five sections in its business architecture, including industrial investment, tech-financing, park development, regional cooperation and overseas business. Now, it has a registered capital of 17.42 billion yuan and total assets worth 96.08 billion yuan and has also been granted with an AAA long-term credit rating.