Dentons advises Yuyao Economic Development on issuing the first overseas dollar bonds in Ningbo

Recently, Yuyao Economic Development Zone Construction Investment & Development ("Yuyao Economic Development") successfully issued the first overseas dollar bonds in Ningbo on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. A Dentons Shanghai team led by Senior Partner Wu Jing, assisted by associates Yao Cheng and Wang Songyan, and paralegals Liu Gongyuan and Fu Congye, acted as the Chinese legal counsel for the underwriters and provided full scope legal assistance on this issuance.

Yuyao Shuncai Investment Holdings (Yuyao Shuncai) served as the guarantor for the US$ 100 million 3-year senior unsecured bonds. Haitong Bank was the global coordinator, and the lead underwriters included Guotai Juan Securities, Zhongtai International, Big Bay Securities, etc.

The Dentons team conducted legal due diligence on Yuyao Economic Development and its major subsidiaries as well as Yuyao Shuncai, reviewed the part of transaction documents that involved Chinese laws, and prepared a Chinese legal opinion letter. They also issued an attorney's opinion letter under Chinese law to the trustee of this project - The Bank of New York Mellon, London Branch, and worked closely and actively cooperated with the underwriters and their overseas counsels to provide professional, comprehensive and high-quality legal services.

Although the overseas bond issuance policies tightened during the bond issuance, the issuer still successfully issued the 3-year US dollar-dominated bonds on the HKEx, by virtue of strong support from the local government, its own strong credit, market position and solid pricing strategies, as well as the unremitting efforts of all participating agencies including Dentons. The bonds received positive response from the market and the investors actively subscribed. As the first overseas bond issuance in Ningbo, its success has broadened the financing channels for companies in Ningbo, and will facilitate the implementation of the strategies of "going out" and "growing bigger and stronger" of SOEs in Ningbo.