Dim Sum Bonds: Market Overview, Regulation and Experience of Russian Issuers

Eurasia Development Group: CIS issuers are already entering the market, although participation is limited by the requirement for an international rating of at least BBB-. For Russian companies, new placements are currently impossible because Hong Kong trustees are not prepared to participate in transactions.

Dim Sum bonds are yuan-denominated debt securities issued outside mainland China, primarily in Hong Kong. The Dim Sum bond market combines record issuance volumes, declining interest rates and longer borrowing terms.

Key Findings of the Study

The market is growing, becoming cheaper and offering longer-term financing. According to the study, issuance volume increased from CNY 305 billion in 2020 to CNY 1.4 trillion in 2025. From January to May 2026, issuers raised an additional CNY 430 billion.

Dim Sum bond issuance volume, CNY billion, 2016–2026*

At the same time, the average interest rate fell to 1.9%, while the average maturity increased to 4.5 years. The volume of long-term and ultra-long-term bonds continues to grow.

Dynamics of the Average Interest Rate and Maturity of Dim Sum Bonds, 2016–2025

A new driver of the market has been China’s largest technology companies. Since the beginning of 2025, Tencent, Baidu, Meituan, JD.com and Kuaishou have raised around CNY 59 billion to finance artificial intelligence technologies. Tencent’s debut CNY 9 billion issuance included bonds with maturities of 5, 10 and 30 years; the 30-year tranche became the first such issuance by a Chinese company in the market.

The Market Is Already Open to CIS Issuers

The geography of issuances is expanding, but market access remains selective: more than 94% of foreign issuers have an investment-grade rating. There is an informal rule in the market not to allow foreign companies with a rating below BBB- to issue bonds.

Development Bank of Kazakhstan
In 2025, the bank issued Dim Sum bonds for the first time, becoming one of the new CIS issuers in the offshore yuan market.

KazMunayGas
The company raised CNY 1.25 billion for five years at a coupon rate of 2.95%. KazMunayGas became the first oil and gas issuer from the CIS and the first company from Central Asia to issue Dim Sum bonds.

Russian Experience Confirms Interest in the Instrument, but Not Its Current Accessibility

For Russia, this market is not new. In 2010, VTB became the first Russian issuer to place yuan-denominated bonds, issuing CNY 1 billion for three years at 2.95%. Rosselkhozbank and Gazprombank later entered the market as well. After the 2014 sanctions, yields increased and the instrument lost its pricing advantage.

In 2018, RusHydro completed an issuance on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The yield was 6.125%, and the purpose of the issuance was to raise the company’s profile in China in order to attract Chinese investors to its projects in the future.

Today, the main barrier preventing Russian issuers from returning to the market is the participation of a trustee — a fiduciary representing the interests of bondholders. Hong Kong trustees are not prepared to participate in transactions with Russian issuers, making new placements currently impossible.

The full study by Eurasia Development Group examines market dynamics, requirements for foreign issuers, 2025 issuance cases and Russian experience.

Eurasia Development Group supports projects aimed at raising financing in China and Hong Kong: it assesses available instruments, selects arrangers and partners, helps structure transactions and conducts negotiations with financial institutions.