CHINA issued the first 30-year yuan-denominated sovereign bond in Hong Kong yesterday, the fifth year in a row the Ministry of Finance has issued debt in the city.

The 500 million yuan (US$81.3 million) 30-year bond sold at 3.95 percent was part of a 13 billion yuan offshore bond sales the ministry conducted yesterday.

The ministry also sold 5 billion yuan three-year note at 2.87 percent, up from 1.85 percent last year, according to a statement to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

Securities maturing in five years were issued at 3.02 percent, seven years at 3.09 percent, 10 years at 3.16 percent and 15 years at 3.60 percent.

"The move marks the fifth consecutive year that China's Finance Ministry sold yuan-denominated sovereign bonds in Hong Kong," Singapore-based DBS said in a note before the sales. "More importantly, the sales of bonds with a tenor of 30 years will boost yuan-denominated fixed income products for investors, including pension funds and insurance companies."

Yesterday's auction attracted 22.7 billion yuan of orders from institutional investors, 2.3 times their 10 billion-yuan allocation, HKMA data showed. But they were less than last year's 3.8 times.