On September 18, the provincial Department of Finance successfully issued the eighth batch of government bonds for this year on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, totaling RMB 8.8208 billion. This includes RMB 3.8608 billion in new bonds and RMB 4.96 billion in refinancing bonds. The bonds carry maturities of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 years, with an average interest rate of 1.78% and an average bid-to-cover ratio of 22.74 times.

With this issuance, Shanxi Province has cumulatively issued RMB 161.781 billion in government bonds. Since the beginning of this year, the provincial Department of Finance has diligently implemented the provincial party committee and provincial government's directives on enhancing the quality and efficiency of local bond issuance. It has been implementing a more proactive fiscal policy, continuously strengthening the issuance foundation, innovating issuance models, persistently optimizing fiscal scientific management levels, and deepening fiscal-financial coordination to support a stable and positive economic start for Shanxi's "15th Five-Year Plan" period.

The provincial Department of Finance actively sought guidance from the Ministry of Finance and successfully issued its first option-embedded land reserve special bond of RMB 131 million, with a term of 3+2 years and a winning interest rate of 1.47%. An option-embedded bond is a type of bond that includes a redemption right in its contract. The provincial Department of Finance can choose to exercise the redemption right in the third year or repay the principal in full upon maturity in the fifth year, depending on the revenue realization of the project corresponding to this bond.

This successful first issuance of the option-embedded bond has, on one hand, strengthened financial institutions' willingness to underwrite. The actual duration of option-embedded bonds is relatively shorter than that of ordinary bonds, while the coupon rates are essentially the same, leaving room for premium and stimulating market allocation and trading activity, thus continuously improving bond liquidity.

On the other hand, it has achieved a reasonable match between project returns and bond maturities, effectively improving the efficiency of fiscal fund allocation. By flexibly arranging the maturity structure, the refined management level during the bond's term has been genuinely enhanced.