Bank of China Ltd announced on Friday it was named by China's Ministry of Finance as the lead underwriter and bookrunner for the upcoming issuance of $2 billion offshore sovereign bonds in Hong Kong.

The ministry will hold a promotional event in Hong Kong on Oct 25 for the issuance and then sell the bonds according to market conditions, Bank of China said in a statement on its website.

It was the first time for the Ministry of Finance to issue US dollar-denominated treasury bonds since October 2004, when the country raised about $1.7 billion by selling dollar- and euro-denominated bonds.

The ministry announced on June 13 that it will issue yuan-denominated treasury bonds worth 14 billion yuan ($2.12 billion) and dollar-denominated sovereign bonds worth $2 billion overseas in 2017, with the approval of the State Council.

Last year, Bank of China helped the ministry issue yuan-denominated treasury bonds worth 3 billion yuan in London as a global coordinator for the issuance.