Jul. 3, 2012 (China Knowledge) - China's Ministry of Railways today announced plans to auction RMB 18 billion worth of fixed-rate bonds with a maturity of ten years on the interbank market Jul. 4, sources reported.

Coupon rate will be Shibor plus basic spread that will be set between 0.80% and 0.20%.

Value date will be Jul. 5 and interest will be paid annually.

China Chengxin International Credit Rating Co Ltd has rated the issuer and bonds AAA and AAA, respectively. Shenyin & Wanguo Securities Co has been hired as lead underwriter for the offering.

Proceeds from the deal will be used to fund 33 railway projects.

On Jun. 12, the ministry auctioned RMB 20 billion of ten-year railway construction bonds with a coupon rate of 4.3%.

As of to date, the MOR has RMB 492 billion in railway construction bonds, RMB 95 billion in medium-term notes and RMB 40 billion in short-term bills.