A Panda Bond is a Renminbi (RMB)-denominated bond from a non-Chinese issuer, which is sold in mainland China. In October 2005, the first two Panda Bonds were issued by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). In 2005, the People’s Bank of China (PBC), Ministry of Finance (MOF), National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) jointly published the Provisional Administrative Rules on the Issuance of RMB Bonds by International Development Institutions (Notice No. 5 [2005]). In 2010, the PBC, MOF, NDRC, and the CSRC jointly issued amendments to the Panda Bond regulations to expand the scope of eligible foreign issuers and for proceeds to be used overseas, namely, Provisional Administrative Rules on the Issuance of RMB Bonds by International Development Institutions (Notice No. 10 [2010]). In 2015, the PBC issued Notice on Issues Concerning Investment of Foreign Central Banks, International Financial Institutions and Sovereign Wealth Funds with RMB Funds in the Inter-bank Market (Notice No. 220 [2015]). In 2016, the PBC successively released Notice on Expanding the Pilot Program of Macro-Prudential Management for Full-covered Cross-Border Financing (Notice No. 18 [2016]) and Notice on Implementing Macro-Prudential Management for Full-covered Cross-border Financing Nationwide (Notice No. 132 [2016]), both of which were expired in 2017 after the PBC published Notice of Matters Concerning on Implementing Macro-Prudential Management for Full-covered Cross-border Financing (Notice No. 9 [2017]). In 2018, the PBC, MOF, NDRC, and the CSRC repealed the Notice No. 10 [2010] (Notice No.15 [2018]). Instead, the PBC and the MOF jointly announced the Interim Measures for the Administration of Bonds Issued by Overseas Issuers on the National Interbank Bond Market (Notice No.16 [2018]).
How to Issue a Green Panda Bond?
A green panda bond is fundmentally the same as a panda bond expect with proceeds earmarked for green assets or projects. The issuance of a green panda bond needs to follow both the guidelines for panda bonds and for green bonds. China's green bond issuance began in late 2015 with the Agricultural Bank of China issuing a green bond in London. In July 2016, the first green panda bond was issued by the New Development Bank (NDB). To support and facilitate international issuers entrance into the Chinese green bond market, the Climate Bonds Initiative in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) published the ‘Green Panda Bond Handbook’, which provides a step-by-step guide for prospective issuers and an overview of Chinese regulators and actors. The Handbook launch was supported by the Shanghai Head Office of the People’s Bank of China in November 2018. More details and useful information about green panda bonds can be found in the website of Climate Bonds Initiative.