On 8th May 2014, Bank of China successfully launched its first offshore Renminbi (RMB) “Schengen bond”. This bond, which will be listed on the Euro MTF market of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, has enabled Bank of China to be the first Chinese mainland company to issue RMB bonds in the Eurozone.

This three-year bond, priced at 3.50%, amounts to a total of RMB 1.5 billion and is issued under the USD 10 billion MTN program of the Bank of China Group.

Mr. Robert Scharfe, CEO of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, declared on this occasion: “The choice of Luxembourg as the listing place demonstrates the confidence of the Bank of China Group towards Europe and especially Luxembourg as a prime international financial center. This listing also strengthens our number one position in the world for the listing of offshore RMB denominated bonds outside Asia”.

This first offshore RMB bond was named “Schengen bond” using the name of a small village at the borders of Luxembourg, France and Germany which stands for free movement within Schengen member countries. The pronunciation of “Schengen” in Chinese represents the meaning of “root here and develop here”.

Ms. Lihong Zhou, General Manager of Bank of China Limited, Luxembourg Branch, declared: “The successful launch of this Schengen bond is a further step towards the internationalization of the Renminbi and shows the commitment of Bank of China, China’s most international and diversified bank with a history of more than 100 years, to promote Luxembourg as a leading RMB Financial Center in Europe”.