On May 6th, the Securities Association of China released its special statistical data on bond underwriting business for securities firms for the first quarter of 2026. The data indicates that, guided by policy, securities firms have achieved significant results in serving key national strategic areas, with underwriting volumes for thematic bonds such as technological innovation, green and low-carbon initiatives, and rural revitalization experiencing rapid growth. However, Belt and Road bond business saw a noticeable decline.
Specifically, the total underwriting volume for 49 green bonds reached 50.479 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 132.42% compared to the first quarter of 2025. CITIC Securities, Guoxin Asset Management, and Guotai Haitong Securities ranked in the top three by underwriting volume. Although low-carbon transition bonds are still in their early stages, they demonstrated rapid growth in the first quarter. The total underwriting volume reached 12.543 billion yuan, surging 298.19% year-on-year; the number of issuances totaled 25, a substantial increase of 316.67%. Among these, GF Asset Management, Orient Securities, and Deppon Securities all saw their underwriting amounts exceed 1 billion yuan.
The underwriting scale for technological innovation bonds reached 198.528 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 90.36%; a total of 61 securities firms underwrote 232 technological innovation bonds. CITIC Securities, China Securities, and Guotai Haitong Securities performed prominently, each with underwriting amounts exceeding 20 billion yuan, ranking in the top three both in terms of volume and number of firms involved. The total underwriting amount for rural revitalization bonds reached 22.227 billion yuan, up 130.02% year-on-year. Guoxin Asset Management led the pack with an underwriting scale of 6.66 billion yuan, accounting for nearly 30% of the total.
Belt and Road bond underwriting cooled off. A total of 8 securities firms lead-managed 5 bonds, with a combined value of 2.68 billion yuan, marking a year-on-year decline of 34.63%. Only GF Securities and Huatai United Securities had underwriting amounts exceeding 500 million yuan. A total of 94 corporate bonds for private enterprises raised accumulated funds of 128.806 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20.19%. In terms of value, Ping An Securities led with 24.932 billion yuan, being the only firm to exceed 20 billion yuan in underwriting volume; in terms of the number of deals, CITIC Securities ranked first with 11.7 underwriting mandates.
Regarding local government bonds, the total winning bid amount for the first quarter was 64.775 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 54.06%, covering 20 regions; 8 securities firms had winning bid amounts exceeding 3 billion yuan, with Galaxy Securities ranking first in the industry in both underwriting amount (7.303 billion yuan) and number of deals (18). Additionally, a total of 37 bonds supporting small, medium, and micro enterprises were underwritten, with a combined value of 31.212 billion yuan. CITIC Securities led the industry with a scale of 8.508 billion yuan.
Green finance bond underwriting scale exceeded 50 billion yuan, with Shengang Securities jumping into the top five. According to SAC data, in the first quarter of this year, 37 securities firms acted as lead underwriters for green bonds, underwriting 49 bonds, a 96% year-on-year increase, with a total scale of 50.479 billion yuan, up 132.42% year-on-year. Looking at the number of underwriting mandates and the scale, the strong remained dominant, indicating significant industry concentration. CITIC Securities ranked first with an underwriting scale of 9.694 billion yuan. The other top five firms were Guoxin Asset Management (6.66 billion yuan), Guotai Haitong Securities (4.298 billion yuan), Guotai Haitong Asset Management (4 billion yuan), and Shengang Securities (3.9 billion yuan). In terms of scale change compared to the same period last year, Shengang Securities had zero underwriting volume in Q1 2025 for this business, which surged to 3.9 billion yuan in Q1 2026, propelling it into the industry's top five. It is understood that Shengang Securities has elevated serving the national 'Dual Carbon' goals to a strategic level and deeply integrated it into its positioning as a 'boutique investment bank.' In recent years, the company has continued to focus on green industry sectors like clean energy and energy conservation, accumulating project and client resources through increased financial support, which culminated in a concentrated release in Q1 2026. In terms of the number of underwriting mandates, the top five firms were CITIC Securities (6.81 deals), Guotai Haitong (4.31 deals), Huatai United Securities (2.99 deals), China Securities (2.69 deals), and CICC (2.35 deals).
Low-carbon transition bonds saw dual growth in scale and value. Low-carbon transition bonds exhibited explosive growth in Q1 2026, with an underwriting amount of 12.543 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 298.19%, nearly triple the previous amount. In terms of quantity, 25 low-carbon transition bonds were issued, a massive increase of 316.67%. The data suggests that securities firms are increasing their product innovation efforts to assist companies in their green and low-carbon transitions. Regarding underwriting scale, 3 securities firms had scales exceeding 1 billion yuan, and 8 firms had scales exceeding 500 million yuan. GF Asset Management ranked first in the industry with an underwriting amount of 1.953 billion yuan; followed by Orient Securities and Zhongde Securities, with 1.627 billion yuan and 1 billion yuan respectively, ranking second and third in the industry. Firms ranked seventh to tenth included Guojin Securities (750 million yuan), Ping An Securities (714 million yuan), Guotai Haitong Securities (713 million yuan), GF Securities (500 million yuan), China Merchants Securities (500 million yuan), Huafu Securities (480 million yuan), and China Securities (435 million yuan). In terms of the number of underwriting mandates, only 4 firms had more than 1 mandate: Orient Securities (3.33 deals), GF Securities (2 deals), Guojin Securities (1.5 deals), and China Securities (1.33 deals).
Technological innovation bond scale exceeded one hundred billion yuan, with quantity more than doubling. As a core lever for financial support to strengthen the country through technology, technological innovation bonds continued their high growth momentum in the first quarter. Data shows that the total market underwriting amount for Sci-Tech Innovation bonds in the first quarter reached 198.528 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 90.36%. In terms of issuance numbers, the count reached 232 bonds, a significant increase of 116.82% compared to 107 bonds in the same period last year. The market concentration for underwriting scale was extremely high, with 3 securities firms having scales exceeding 20 billion yuan and 9 firms exceeding 5 billion yuan. The leaders in scale were CITIC Securities (33.48 billion yuan), China Securities (24.862 billion yuan), Guotai Haitong Securities (21.415 billion yuan), CICC (16.846 billion yuan), China Merchants Securities (9.609 billion yuan), GF Securities (9.41 billion yuan), Huatai United Securities (8.613 billion yuan), Orient Securities (6.58 billion yuan), First Capital Underwriting and Sponsorship (5.941 billion yuan), and Shenwan Hongyuan Securities (4.751 billion yuan). Regarding the number of underwriting mandates, 5 securities firms had more than 10 mandates. CITIC Securities led the industry with 26.98 mandates; China Securities and Guotai Haitong Securities ranked second and third respectively, with 22.84 and 17.78 mandates. The top five also included CICC (12.97 mandates) and Huatai United Securities (12.95 mandates). The sustained high growth of the Sci-Tech Innovation bond underwriting business is closely linked to strong policy support. In May 2025, the People's Bank of China and the China Securities Regulatory Commission jointly issued an announcement regarding support for issuing Sci-Tech Innovation bonds, pressing the 'accelerator' for the market's development. Guided by policy, the Sci-Tech Innovation bond market achieved milestone development in 2025, with the annual underwriting amount breaking through the one trillion yuan mark for the first time, reaching 1,021.935 billion yuan, a substantial year-on-year increase of 66.52%.
Guoxin Asset Management leads in rural revitalization bond scale, Caixin Securities leads in project count. The rural revitalization bond market exhibits characteristics of 'scale concentration and deal count dispersion,' with a head effect coexisting with differentiated competition from small and medium-sized securities firms. In terms of underwriting amount, industry concentration is extremely high, showing a pattern of 'one superpower and multiple strong players.' Guoxin Asset Management led by a wide margin with an underwriting scale of 6.66 billion yuan, topping the list and demonstrating its absolute strength in undertaking large rural revitalization projects. GF Securities ranked second with 2.372 billion yuan, while Capital Securities (1.562 billion yuan) and Caixin Securities (1.525 billion yuan) placed third and fourth respectively. Zhongde Securities entered the top five scale ranking with 1.3 billion yuan. Furthermore, firms like Guotai Haitong Securities and Soochow Securities also had underwriting amounts exceeding 700 million yuan, forming a second tier. From the perspective of the number of underwriting mandates, small and medium-sized securities firms performed particularly notably. Caixin Securities and Soochow Securities tied for first place with 2.5 mandates each, showcasing their breadth and activity in project acquisition. Guoxin Asset Management, Capital Securities, and Tianfeng Securities followed closely with 2 mandates each. It is noteworthy that some leading firms, including CITIC Securities, China Merchants Securities, and CICC, had only 0.2 to 0.4 mandates in this segment, indicating that rural revitalization bonds have become an important area for small and medium-sized securities firms to leverage their geographical advantages and deeply cultivate niche markets.
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