China’s central government will issue 2 billion yuan ($290.3 million) in bonds in Macao on July 4, the Ministry of Finance and the government of the Macao Special Administrative Region announced Tuesday.

These will be the first bonds issued by the central government in Macao, one of the world’s biggest casino hubs. Casinos are a major government revenue source for the city, a Portuguese territory until 1999.

As this year marks the 20th anniversary of Macao’s handover to China, the bond issuance “demonstrates the Central Government’s support for Macao’s specialised financial services and for the city’s adequate economic diversification effort,” the Macao government said in a statement. 

The issuance is a milestone in Macao’s yuan-denominated financial market and a crucial part of diversified, sustainable economic development, the finance ministry said.

Since 2009, the central government has issued offshore yuan-denominated sovereign bonds in Hong Kong every year.