China central bank issues guidelines for corporate credit bonds

BEIJING: China’s central bank on Wednesday issued detailed guidelines to promote the high-quality development of the corporate bond market to support economic transformation.

Issuance of corporate credit bonds should comply with China’s macroeconomic and industrial policies, according to the guidelines.

China would gradually unify rules and standards for such bonds, improve trading, information disclosures, better protect investors, and step up supervision of credit rating agencies, the guidelines said.

China would crack down on misuse of funds raised from corporate credit bonds and rein in other irregularities, the guidelines said.

The central bank also pledged to prevent hidden local government debt risks by clarifying debt repayment responsibilities of companies and local authorities in the bond issuance process.