Moscow in talks for yuan loans

Agencies

Russia's finance ministry has been discussing with its Chinese counterparts the possibility of taking out loans in yuan, but there has been no decision yet, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said.

"Negotiations with Chinese partners have been going on for a long time. So far there is no decision," Siluanov told the RIA news agency.

"We discussed this topic at the end of last year at the inter-ministerial dialogue."

Siluanov added Moscow is ready to start testing payments in digital currencies with China or countries of the Eurasian Economic Union and will promote the idea with its partners.

Meanwhile, a state-owned firm in China's Guizhou province is selling bonds to help repay debt issued by a local government financing vehicle, a rare move that highlights the region's liquidity strains.

Guizhou Hongyingda Construction Project Management, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the finance bureau of Xixiu district in Anshun city, issued a 1.8 billion yuan (HK$1.96 billion) five-year non-public bond Friday with a coupon of 4.8 percent, according to a filing on Shanghai Stock Exchange's private disclosure platform. The security was rated AAA by domestic ratings agency CSCI Pengyuan Credit Rating as it's fully guaranteed by Guizhou State Owned Asset Operation, a wholly-owned unit of the province's finance bureau.