The BRICS New Development Bank is taking needed steps to fulfill the commitment made by its new president, Dilma Rousseff, upon taking office, to make the bank the development bank of the developing nations. That had been the intention of the bank from its establishment in 2015, but only now is that being carried out. The NDB issued a renminbi-denominated bond of 8.5 billion yuan—about $1.2 billion—on the China Interbank Bond Market this week, Infobrics reported June 29.
The amount is not large, but it is the bank’s biggest yuan (renminbi) bond issuance to date. “The net proceeds from the sale of the bonds will be used to finance infrastructure and sustainable development activities in the bank’s member countries,” Infobrics reported, quoting NDB Vice President and Chief Finance Officer Leslie Maasdorp. “In order to support our operations, the NDB seeks to increase its presence in local capital markets of our member countries by issuing and lending in local currencies, including the China Interbank Bond Market,” she said.
Zhou Qiangwu, the bank’s Chief Administrative Officer and VP, had the same message on June 30, telling Xinhua that “as the first global multilateral financial institution initiated wholly by developing countries, the NDB is mandated to mobilize resources for the sustainable development of emerging markets and developing countries.”
The Xinhua story reported that the NDB has become one of the largest issuers of panda bonds on the China Interbank Bond Market. The Chinese news service explained that “panda bonds are yuan-denominated debts sold by overseas issuers in China.” According to NDB data, it added, “the NDB has issued bonds totaling $16 billion, approximately 35% of which are denominated in renminbi.”
