(ATF) The General Office of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) issued a notice on its website saying there is a uniform extension of the validity period for approval and approval documents for corporate bonds.
The commission said the move is a part of its key role, which aims to make epidemic prevention and control “normal”, as well as undertaking corporate bond work, optimising the corporate bond issuance environment and achieving an effective registration system.
The notice clearly states that if approval documents for corporate bonds expires between February to June 2020, the approval process will be extended by 12 months from the original validity period. If it expires after July 2020, the validity period of the approval will also be extended to June 30, 2021.
The approval policy is valid for corporate bonds that are valid for 24 months or have been extended on a case-by-case basis.
The move is effective in all of China’s provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government and cities with separate plans, plus Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Development and Reform Commission, and relevant units.
Other relevant points in the notice said the issuer shall complete the bond issuance as soon as possible in accordance with the market conditions and financing needs within the validity period of the bond approval document, and invest in the use of bond issuance funds in accordance with the approved funds raised.
Before the bond issuance, the issuer should continue to comply with the bond issuance conditions stipulated by laws, regulations and complete regulatory documents, and should report to the nearest NDRC office 10 working days before the first day of issuance.
The issuer and relevant intermediary agencies should actively cooperate with provincial-level Development and Reform Commission officials and the audit agency designated by the NDRC committee, and seriously implement debt repayment guarantees to protect the legitimate rights and interests of investors, it said.
