Foreign companies may be allowed to sell bonds in China without using local units within months as the government expands capital markets, said UBS Securities Co., the No. 3 underwriter of domestic corporate debt this year.

"We have many clients around the world who are very interested in issuing bonds in China for their expansion on the ground," said Simon Jin, managing director and head of fixed income for UBS Securities in Beijing.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission said in December the country will expand its corporate bond market, after the National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors said Asian companies may be allowed to start sales.

Overseas firms remain restricted from selling yuan-denominated notes in China, five years after the Asian Development Bank and International Finance Corp., both supranational agencies, sold the first so-called Panda bonds.

"My view is that will change," he said. "You will see probably see more Panda bonds this year."

Authorities in Beijing are expected to simplify rules for issuing bonds, improve the quality of local credit ratings services and boost coordination between government departments, said Jin.

UBS has underwritten seven corporate bond issues in China this year totaling 10.4 billion yuan (US$1.5 billion), according to media data.

Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (China) Ltd. said Monday it has approval to issue 1 billion yuan of bonds in China — the first local subsidiary of a foreign company to do so. HSBC Holdings Plc. sold yuan-denominated bonds through its China unit in Hong Kong last year.

Foreign multinational companies will likely get approval to issue yuan debt without using local subsidiaries, according to Jin.

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