New measures for corporate bonds in the PRC
On 15 January 2015, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (the “CSRC”) implemented the Administrative Measures for Issuing and Trading Corporate Bonds “公司债券发行与交易管理办法” (the “Measures”), which replaced the Measures for Pilot Projects for the Offering of Corporate Bonds “公司债券发行试点办法”.
The Measures allow all corporate juristic persons to issue corporate bonds and have developed a set of rules to regulate issuance and transfer of publicly issued and non-publicly issued corporate bonds. The Measures also set out the disclosure requirements in relation to the purpose of raising funds, material event and credit rating.
New limits have been imposed on public issuing of corporate bonds to public investors by issuers. Article 21 of the Measures had streamlined the CSRC review procedures on application documents on information disclosure submitted by the issuers. The Measures fully utilize the internet as a platform for disclosure of information regarding the publicly issued corporate bonds which enhanced the authorities’ manpower to oversee the bond market.
The Measures serve as a platform for the CSRC to further strengthen its administrative powers of issuing corporate bonds.