CHINA'S finance ministry has sold 34.97 billion yuan (US$4.7 billion) of 10-year bonds for the country's reserve management agency, the fourth offering of the securities.

China's lawmakers approved a plan in June to sell the so-called special government bonds to finance China Investment Corp, which was set up in September to help manage and boost returns on the country's US$1.43 trillion of currency reserves. The issue was increased from the initial 30 billion yuan and the debt fetched a coupon of 4.49 percent, according to the ministry's Website. The highest bids were 4.53 percent.