The Chinese are renowned for their softly-softly approach to economic development. Policy-makers prefer slow, incremental change. Steps towards modernisation, internationalisation and economic reform are taken gradually.
The onshore Chinese bond market is a case in point. The market resumed in earnest 30 years ago when the Chinese government began to issue bonds as part of the broader economic reform agenda. Four years later, in 1985, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China launched a Rmb500m ($78.75m) bond; in 1987, the first quasi-corporate bonds were launched; and by 1991, a repo market had been introduced into the treasury bond market.
