China has launched its largest-ever dollar-denominated government bond in a $6bn fundraising that drew substantial interest from yield-starved global investors and provides a reference point for the pricing of Chinese companies’ international debt. 

The bond offering from China’s Ministry of Finance marked the biggest dollar-denominated treasury issuance from the country on record, according to Dealogic data, and offered investors a chance to buy into higher-yielding debt backed directly by Beijing.

Samuel Fischer, head of China onshore debt capital markets at Deutsche Bank, one of the banks leading the deal, said the offering had allowed China’s finance ministry to build out its range of dollar-denominated debt, giving it “a solid track record as regular issuer in the international market”.