Brazil Plans Annual Panda Bond Issuance, Making Yuan a Permanent Fixture of Sovereign Debt Strategy

巴西计划每年在华发行熊猫债：人民币成为主权债务永久组成部分

Brazil intends to sell yuan-denominated panda bonds in China every year rather than as a one-off, a senior Brazilian treasury official said on August 5, 2026, in a plan that would make the Chinese currency a permanent fixture of its external debt — and make Brazil the first Latin American sovereign to enter the fast-growing onshore yuan bond market.

巴西财政部高级官员2026年8月5日表示，巴西计划每年在华发行人民币计价熊猫债，而非一次性发行，这一计划将使人民币成为其外债的永久组成部分，巴西也将成为首个进入快速增长的在岸人民币债券市场的拉丁美洲主权国家。

Francisco Segundo, deputy secretary for public debt at Brazil's National Treasury, told a webinar hosted by the China-Brazil Business Council that the value of the issuance is "much more qualitative than quantitative for now," aiming primarily to establish a sovereign yuan yield curve that Brazilian companies can use as a benchmark when borrowing from Chinese investors.

巴西国家财政部公共债务副秘书弗朗西斯科·塞贡多在中巴商务理事会主办的网络研讨会上表示，此次发行的价值"目前更多是定性而非定量"，主要目的是建立主权人民币收益率曲线，供巴西企业向中国投资者融资时参照使用。

The debut sale is expected before the end of 2026, with the target size reported between 5 billion yuan (US$735 million) and 10 billion yuan (US$1.48 billion), according to separate statements from Finance Minister Dario Durigan and Treasury Secretary Daniel Leal. The application, submitted in June 2026 when Durigan handed a formal letter of intent to People's Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng, has already been cleared, with only procedural steps — including the engagement of a Chinese credit rating agency — remaining.

首笔发行预计在2026年底前完成，据财政部长杜里根和国库秘书莱尔分别表态，目标规模在50亿元人民币（约合7.35亿美元）至100亿元人民币（约合14.8亿美元）之间。巴西于2026年6月提交申请，由财政部长杜里根向中国人民银行行长潘功胜递交意向函，目前已获批，仅剩聘请中国信用评级机构等程序性步骤待完成。

"We have to go once, we have to go twice, three times. We have to be there every year," Segundo said, drawing from Brazil's experience in the euro market, where a decade-long absence after a 2014 debut had distorted its sovereign curve. The treasury is determined not to repeat that mistake with the yuan.

"我们必须去一次、两次、三次。我们必须每年都在那里，"塞贡多说道，这一判断来自巴西在欧元市场的经验教训——2014年首次发行欧元债后缺席超过十年，导致主权收益率曲线扭曲。巴西财政部决心不在人民币市场上重蹈覆辙。

The move comes amid a surge in sovereign panda bond activity. Indonesia priced its debut 7 billion yuan panda bond on July 23, 2026 — the largest sovereign debut on record — joining new entrants Kazakhstan, Slovenia, and Pakistan, while Hungary has become a repeat issuer. Total panda bond issuance in the first half of 2026 exceeded 160 billion yuan, surging 69 percent year-on-year according to People's Bank of China statistics. DBS senior economist Samuel Tse noted that panda bonds offer three key advantages: funding costs are cheaper than dollar debt (average coupon 1.97% versus dollar borrowing at 4.5–5.5%), growing yuan funding needs, and ample onshore liquidity.

此举正值主权熊猫债发行热潮。印度尼西亚于2026年7月23日定价首笔70亿元人民币熊猫债——创下主权首发的最大纪录——并加入哈萨克斯坦、斯洛文尼亚和巴基斯坦等新发行人的行列，匈牙利则已成为重复发行人。据中国人民银行统计，2026年上半年熊猫债发行总额超过1600亿元人民币，同比增长69%。星展银行高级经济学家谢家曦指出，熊猫债具有三个关键优势：融资成本低于美元债（平均票息1.97%，而美元借款成本在4.5%至5.5%之间）、人民币融资需求日益增长，以及在岸流动性充裕。

China has surpassed the United States as Brazil's largest trading partner, creating a natural demand for yuan-denominated settlement between the two economies. "It is logical for international trade or investment between Brazilian companies and Chinese counterparts to settle in Chinese yuan, and issuing Chinese yuan bonds allows for a natural hedge," Tse said. Brazil's plan to become a regular panda bond issuer signals not only the deepening of Sino-Brazilian financial ties but also the accelerating internationalization of the yuan as a sovereign funding currency — extending beyond Asia to Latin America.

中国已超过美国成为巴西最大的贸易伙伴，这为两国经济之间的人民币结算创造了天然需求。谢家曦表示："巴西企业与中国同行之间的国际贸易或投资以人民币结算是合理的，发行人民币债券可以实现自然对冲。"巴西计划成为熊猫债的常态化发行人，不仅标志着中巴金融联系的深化，也标志着人民币作为主权融资货币的国际化进程正加速从亚洲延伸至拉丁美洲。