Shanghai plans subsidies for offshore issuers selling bonds and measures to deepen debt investment as part of a renewed push to turn a long-dormant market in the city's free trade zone into a global funding hub, people familiar with the effort said. The free trade zone was launched 13 years ago and an offshore bond market opened in 2016, but the market has failed to gain meaningful foreign participation, remaining largely a fundraising channel for Chinese borrowers.
The initiative to attract offshore debt sales, not previously reported, comes as Beijing's promotion of the global use of its currency is finding the most traction in debt markets where low rates are spurring record issuance.
