The Bank of China said Monday that it had been given the green light to provide a clearing service for the country's first US dollar-denominated financial bond -- amounting to US$500 million.

The bond was issued last September by the China Development Bank, one of China's three policy banks, and put under the trusteeship of the China Government Securities Depository Trust and Clearing Co., Ltd. (CDC).

A spokesman for the BOC said the CDC chose the BOC as the clearing bank on the back of the bank's "overall domestic and overseas advantages, efficient and safe fund clearing services and rich experience in forex clearing".

The BOC is China's state-owned foreign exchange bank.

"The effort will enable the BOC to expand intermediate business and earning channels and win opportunities for further market competition," said the bank spokesman.

The China Development Bank said that it would use the money to support state-owned enterprises in debt restructuring, lower financing costs and handle existing high-cost foreign debts.

The China Development Bank raises money for key projects in the fields of infrastructure facilities, basic industries, pillar industries and the high and new technology sectors. It is also a body for bond issuing, second only to the Ministry of Finance.
 
(Xinhua News Agency February 3, 2004)