Sri Lanka is working towards the issuance of ‘Panda bonds’ - foreign issuers’ paper sold in the Chinese domestic interbank bond market, according to Central Bank Governor, Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy.

“We are working towards a Panda Bond issuance before the end of the year,” he told reporters in Colombo on Friday (3). He stated that they went on a non deal roadshow (NDR) to China and that there seems to be ‘a good interest’.

The Governor said that they met with several banks, insurance companies and other institutional investors during the visit.

Dr. Coomaraswamy said that perhaps the most encouraging of all was their meeting with the People’s Bank of China, the central bank of China, where the Deputy Governor had suggested that they set up a joint task force to examine how Sri Lanka could explore the Panda bond market.

Asked about the value of the Bond Issuance, the Governor said that it may be around USD 250 million.

A Panda bond is a Chinese renminbi-denominated bond from a non-Chinese issuer, sold in the People's Republic of China.