HKU Taps Bond Market With $1 Billion Note Program

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has established a $1 billion medium-term note program, marking the first time a public university in the city has tapped the commercial bond market for financing.

Under a framework agreement signed March 30, the institution appointed HSBC and DBS to arrange the issuance of notes to professional investors.

The unprecedented move highlights how Hong Kong’s top academic institutions are turning to alternative capital sources as the local government tightens public education funding and pushes for the costly development of a new university town near the mainland border.