McDonald's issues RMB bonds in Hong Kong

Multinational company’s sale of RMB200 million opens up more potential issuers to tap market.

McDonald’s Corp., the world’s largest restaurant chain, became the first foreign non-financial company to sell yuan-denominated bonds in Hong Kong.

McDonald’s, based in Oak Brook, Illinois, sold 200 million yuan of 3 percent notes due in September 2013, offer manager Standard Chartered Plc said in an e-mailed statement Thursday.

The issue “opens up more potential issuers to tap this market, especially those who have sizable operations in China,” said Arthur Lau, a Hong-based fixed-income fund manager at JF Asset Management Ltd.

China is expanding its financial system, and will use Hong Kong as a testing ground for yuan-denominated products, according to the city’s former central bank chief Joseph Yam. Foreign companies in February became eligible to issue yuan bonds as part of efforts to bolster the ex-British colony’s financial status and expand its role in promoting China’s currency for global commerce.

View the full story in Bloomberg.