The pace of new special local government bond issuance has accelerated this year compared to last. Data shows that as of April 13, the scale of newly issued special bonds across various regions reached approximately 1,187.9 billion yuan, representing an issuance progress of 27%. During the same period last year, the issuance scale was about 1,018.3 billion yuan, with a progress rate of 23%.
Since the beginning of the year, the issuance rhythm for new special bonds has noticeably quickened, featuring an accelerated deployment of both debt-resolution and non-debt-resolution funds. The non-debt-resolution category constitutes a larger share and contributes more significantly to the overall front-loaded placement.
Looking at the overall issuance of local government bonds, as of April 13, total issuance reached approximately 3,394.7 billion yuan, an 11% increase year-over-year, highlighting a pronounced front-loading effort. Alongside the rapid issuance of new special bonds, the pace for special refinancing bonds aimed at replacing existing hidden debt has also picked up, with issuance reaching 1,059.8 billion yuan, already exceeding half of this year's planned issuance volume of 2 trillion yuan.
In terms of the allocation of new special bond funds, municipal and industrial park infrastructure remains the primary focus, accounting for 555.2 billion yuan or 47% of the total. Significant amounts were also allocated to transportation infrastructure, shantytown redevelopment, and public services, with figures of 188.3 billion yuan (16%), 96.9 billion yuan (8%), and 58.1 billion yuan (5%) respectively.
Notably, the issuance scale of special bonds for land reserve purposes has reached 84.9 billion yuan so far this year, a 95% increase from the same period last year (approximately 43.5 billion yuan), nearly doubling. On a quarterly basis, 78.3 billion yuan in land reserve special bonds were issued in the first quarter, a 130% year-on-year increase.
The utilization of new special bond funds this year continues the infrastructure-led pattern seen last year while further tilting towards areas such as land reserves and specific major projects. The allocation pattern for land reserve special bonds continues to be dominated by provinces and cities with "self-review and self-issuance" authority, a structure maintained since 2025.
Local land reserve special bond programs have achieved results in revitalizing unused land stock. For instance, since launching a pilot program for land reserve special bonds in March 2025, significant progress has been made in reclaiming and acquiring idle land. By the end of the first application round in 2026, 20 projects involving 3,884 mu of land had entered the provincial candidate pool, with involved funds totaling 4.38 billion yuan. Already issued bond funds amount to 1.604 billion yuan, and it is estimated that 1,017 mu of idle commercial and residential land can be digested and disposed of. Both the value of projects entering the pool and the volume of bonds issued rank among the top in Sichuan Province.
The substantial year-on-year growth in land reserve special bond issuance is a significant manifestation of the current expansion of fiscal tools. Various regions are taking concrete actions in land acquisition and purchasing existing commercial housing, which helps optimize the supply-demand relationship in the real estate market and provides strong support for future market expectations.
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