As of April 8, 2026, the issuance scale of panda bonds during the year exceeded 100 billion yuan.
Wind statistics show that since the beginning of this year, the cumulative issuance of panda bonds has reached 104.735 billion yuan, doubling from 52.3 billion yuan in the same period last year.
As the market scale continues to expand, foreign financial institutions are becoming more enthusiastic in participating and are gradually becoming an important force in driving market activity.
Panda bonds are RMB-denominated bonds issued by overseas institutions in China. Their issuance popularity has increased due to the resonance of multiple favorable factors.
Domestic relatively stable interest rates and low financing costs have become the core advantages that attract overseas institutions to issue Panda bonds.
Overseas institutions can obtain low-cost RMB funds through the issuance of Panda bonds, covering domestic and global business capital needs, reducing financing costs while improving capital utilization efficiency.
A series of optimization measures launched by regulators around panda bonds have also further broadened the market development space.
Including relaxing the limit on the number of lead underwriters in the registration and issuance process, deepening the pilot listing of overseas exchanges, and optimizing the bond pricing and allotment mechanism for overseas institutions, these measures have further lowered the participation threshold for foreign institutions, making more overseas institutions willing to participate in the issuance of panda bonds.
The increased attractiveness of the RMB is also reflected in the fields of cross-border payment and trade settlement.
The RMB Cross-border Payment System (CIPS) processed a single-day transaction volume of 1.22 trillion yuan on April 2, setting a new historical record; in March this year, the system’s average daily transaction volume reached 920.5 billion yuan, rising to the highest level in a year.
At the end of March, the proportion of RMB settlement in crude oil trade with China in the Middle East exceeded 41%, making RMB the second largest settlement currency after the US dollar in local oil trade for the first time.
This series of data shows that the status of RMB in international trade settlement is constantly improving, and more and more countries and regions are beginning to accept and use RMB for trade settlement.
The exchange rate level also releases signals of the increased attractiveness of the RMB.
At noon on April 8, the offshore RMB exchange rate against the U.S. dollar rose nearly 300 points during the day, reaching a maximum of 6.8216, a new high since March 2023.
From April 7th to 8th, the central parity rate of the RMB against the U.S. dollar increased by a total of 249 basis points, and the onshore and offshore RMB exchange rates against the U.S. dollar both rose above the 6.83 mark.
The steady rise in the RMB exchange rate reflects the market’s increased confidence in the RMB and further enhances the RMB’s status in the international monetary system.
To sum up, the growth in the scale of Panda bond issuance and the good performance of RMB in cross-border payments, trade settlements and exchange rates fully demonstrate that the cross-border attractiveness of RMB continues to rise, and the role of RMB in the international financial market is expected to be further expanded in the future.
