China said Friday it has decided to issue 60 billion yuan (US$7.5 billion) worth of certificate treasury bonds with terms of maturity of up to five years next month, the first batch of its kind to be issued this year.

The T-bonds include 42 billion yuan worth of those with a term of maturity of three years and an annual par interest rate of 3.14 percent, and 18 billion yuan worth of T-bonds with a term of maturity of five years and an annual par interest rate of 3.49 percent, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement.

The T-bonds, whose interest will be calculated from the date of purchase and paid only once at or after the date of maturity, will be issued between March 1 and 31 by designated underwriting institutions, said the ministry.

The ministry said the T-bonds will be available to the general public, who should purchase them at the retailing outlets of members of 37 underwriting institutions selected in 2004 for the issuance of certificate T-bonds.

The underwriters include the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the Agricultural Bank of China, the Bank of China and the China Construction Bank, as well as some share-holding commercial or city banks.
 
(Xinhua News Agency February 18, 2006)