Government announces subscription and allocation results of Silver Bond
The Government announced today (October 21) the subscription and allocation results of the new batch of Silver Bond.
According to the subscription information submitted by the Placing Banks and the Designated Securities Brokers, as at the close of the subscription period at 2pm on October 14, 2024, a total of 300,413 valid applications were received for a total of HK$69,981,970,000 in principal amount of bonds.
The final issuance amount of the Silver Bond will be HK$55 billion, higher than the target issuance amount of HK$50 billion. Allocation is conducted in accordance with the mechanism set out in the Issue Circular dated September 30, 2024. The valid applications received have been allocated bonds up to a maximum of 24 units (with each unit being HK$10,000). For the 166,177 applications seeking 23 or fewer units, they will be allocated the full amounts applied for. The remaining 134,236 applications (i.e. those applying for more than 23 units) will be allocated 23 units each and then entered into a ballot. Of these applications, 23,737 will be allocated one additional unit.
The Silver Bond will be issued on October 23, 2024, under the retail part of the Infrastructure Bond Programme. Notifications on individual allocation results, applicable subscription moneys and refund of application moneys in excess of the allocated portion will be sent to applicants in accordance with the schedule set out in the Issue Circular.
The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, said, "This is the first batch of Silver Bond issued under the Government's Infrastructure Bond Programme, which will support infrastructure projects for the good of the economy and people's livelihood, and provide our citizens with a 'sense of participation' and a 'sense of gain' in support of Hong Kong's long-term development projects. The positive response in subscription shows that Silver Bond continues to be well-received by senior residents. Silver Bond can provide a safe, reliable and low-risk investment option with steady returns for senior residents, rendering financial services means to better serve the needs of the public and the community. We will keep the effectiveness of the scheme and future arrangements under review, taking account of investor response, market conditions and other relevant considerations."