MACAO -- China's Ministry of Finance on Wednesday issued 5 billion yuan (about $700 million) of yuan-denominated bond in the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR).

The bonds are offered to institutional investors at a tenor of two years for 4 billion yuan, and a tenor of five years for 1 billion yuan, the first such issuance in Macao.

The Bank of China's Macao branch, the lead underwriter of the issuance, said the move had attracted wide attention in domestic and overseas markets, with subscriptions exceeding 10 billion yuan in total.

The Monetary Authority of Macao expressed its gratitude for the finance ministry's support to develop modern finance in Macao.

So far, the ministry has issued yuan-denominated bonds in Macao worth 10 billion yuan in total, which is expected to advance the building of the Macao bond market and support the development of the offshore renminbi (RMB) market.