Bond sale fails to reach target on cash crunch

The finance ministry failed to sell all the debt it offered at auction for the first time in 23 months because of a cash squeeze that threatens to exacerbate a slowdown in the growth of the mainland economy.

The ministry sold 9.53 billion yuan (HK$12 billion) of 273-day bills, well below the 15 billion yuan target, according to two traders who took part in the auctions.

Agricultural Development Bank of China raised 11.51 billion yuan in a sale of six-month bills last week, also less than its 20 billion yuan goal.

via Business feed http://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/1261125/bond-sale-fails-reach-target-cash-crunch