China Tightens Rating Rules for Booming Panda Bond Market

China’s interbank bond market regulator is ordering credit rating agencies to map their domestic panda bond grades to international scales starting Aug. 1, threatening to bar non-compliant firms from the market.

Tuesday’s mandate by the National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors (NAFMII) aims to boost transparency in the booming market for panda bonds, yuan-denominated debt sold on the Chinese mainland by overseas institutions.