The offshore renminbi, or dim sum, bond market has risen dramatically in the past 18 months. The first such deals appeared in 2007, but until mid-2010 volumes were small, with issuance totalling just Rmb16bn ($2.52bn) in 2009.
The past two years have seen exponential growth, thanks to the Chinese authorities lifting restrictions and making it possible for many more borrowers to tap the market. There were Rmb41bn-worth of deals printed in 2010 and almost Rmb150bn in the first 11 months of 2011, taking the total value of outstanding dim sum bonds to about Rmb220bn.
