BEIJING - The government of the Republic of Korea (ROK) will issue 3 billion yuan (470 million US dollars) worth of panda bonds, the first sovereign government to sell such bonds, China's central bank said on Tuesday.

The yuan-denominated bonds will be sold on China's domestic interbank market, the People's Bank of China said in a statement. The statement gave no information on when the bonds would be issued nor provided details such as the maturity and coupon.

The agreement to issue the bonds reached when Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited the ROK in November will diversify China's interbank bond market, promote opening up and enhance bilateral financial cooperation, the central bank said.

Panda bonds are yuan-denominated debts sold by foreign countries and overseas agencies in China. Analysts expect the market to expand as China pushes internationalization of its currency.

According to the World Bank's International Finance Corp., the panda bond market is expected to surpass 320 billion yuan in the next five years.