Bonds of the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone State-Owned Asset Investment Corporation were issued and listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on April 23. The company is the first in Pingtan to issue corporate bonds, Pingtan.gov.cn reported on Friday, April 26.

The total value of the 2013 Pingtan Guotou Bonds issued by the company is 1.2 billion yuan ($194.64 million), with an annual interest rate of 6.58 percent and a term of seven years.

The bond application process wasn't easy. After more than three months of preparation, the company submitted 265,000 documents to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) in August 2012. The NDRC approved its application on March 6 this year. The bonds were issued on March 15 and then listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on April 23.

The issued corporate bonds are high-quality, as the approval authorities took the company's assets, operation level, profitability, repayment capability and credit rating into account. The economic aggregate and financial solvency in the area as a whole was also a factor in consideration, said Lin Konggui, spokesman for the company.

The money raised from the bonds has been received and will be put into infrastructure and transportation infrastructure construction in the pilot zone in particular.

The issuance of the bonds sets a good example of financing innovation for enterprises in Pingtan. As many as 35 agencies have purchased bonds as a result of Pingtan's sound investment outlook. The interest rate is also lower than previously expected, said Lin.

Edited by Chen Zhilin and Michael Thai