China's bonds boom as investors face 'asset famine'

investing.com:

SHANGHAI (Reuters) — A record-breaking rally in Chinese sovereign debt is hitting a fever pitch in another sign China's financial system is low on confidence and overflowing with cash and bank deposits.

Yields at the longer end of China's bond market have been crunched to record lows by the weight of available money, and bankers say savings bonds are selling out almost instantly to retail investors who queue up outside branches before dawn.

The moves are welcome for borrowers, especially the central government which is paying just 3% interest on 30-year debt.

But they also illustrate the fragility of economic expectations — because traders see further rate cuts ahead — and of confidence, given investors of all stripes are plunging into safe financial products instead of more productive assets.

Batches of savings bonds were «gone in seconds», said a state banker in Shanghai, thanks to three-year rates of 2.38%， which are only marginally better than term deposit rates.

Thirty-year Chinese government bond yields are down nearly 40 basis points this year, hitting a record low of below 2.4% in March. They came within a whisker of dropping below 10-year yields, which also have hit 22-year troughs.

China has been trying for years to nudge money out of banks and into growth assets with measures such as rate cuts. But those efforts have been met with resistance as a downturn in real estate has sapped appetite for all but the safest investments.

One Shanghai bond brokerage trader described the situation as an «asset famine,» with very little else for financial institutions to buy while deposits soar and loan growth slides.

Both the trader and the banker requested anonymity as they are not authorised to speak publicly.

The bond