BEIJING - The Ministry of Finance (MOF) said Thursday that it will issue this year's first batch of local government bonds valued at 42.2 billion yuan ($6.85 billion) in mid-June.

On June 14, the ministry will sell 21 billion yuan in three-year local government bonds, of which 4.7 billion yuan will go to the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, 7.6 billion yuan to Anhui Province, 4.1 billion yuan to Fujian Province and 4.6 billion yuan to Gansu Province.

It will also sell 21.2 billion yuan in five-year bonds, of which 4.8 billion will go to Xinjiang, 7.6 billion to Anhui, 4.2 billion to Fujian and 4.6 billion to Gansu.

With the approval of the State Council, or China's cabinet, the MOF will sell local government debt worth a combined total of 350 billion yuan in 2013, the most since 2009, in order to meet growing expenditure demand.