Russia lender to issue yuan bonds

Russia's dominant lender Sberbank said it will issue yuan bonds this year, as 12 billion yuan (HK$13.1 billion) sovereign bonds were issued yesterday in Hong Kong.

The currency meanwhile, continued to fall against the greenback.

The yuan deposit portfolio was more appealing than bond issues, especially for private clients who aim to transfer their savings from US dollars and euros to deposits in Chinese yuan, said Sberbank's head of finance Taras Skvortsov.

Meanwhile, China's Ministry of Finance issued its first batch of 12-billion-yuan treasury bonds in Hong Kong yesterday - a part of the four installments totaling 30 billion yuan this year. China's growth momentum has slowed since April, according to the China Economic Update, indicating that its economic recovery remains fragile and dependent on policy support.

The offshore yuan sagged to a seven-month trough of 7.1789 after the central bank cut rates on Tuesday, with analysts predicting a further weakening to 7.2 in the near term.