Deutsche Bank. Photo: VCG

Deutsche Bank successfully issued its first Panda bonds in the Chinese interbank market on Wednesday, raising a total of 1 billion yuan ($148 million) via three-year senior notes, the company told the Global Times.

The proceeds will be used for corporate purposes, according a statement sent to the Global Times from Deutsche Bank. 

China is the second-largest bond market globally, and the continuously growing international investors and issuer activity is a significant part contributing to the nation's opening-up and integration in the global financial system, Alexander von zur Muehlen, the bank's chief executive officer for Asia Pacific said. 

The issuance of the Panda bonds fully proves the importance of Chinese market for global issuers, said Zhu Tong, chairman of Deutsche Bank China.

In March, Deutsche Bank became the first bank from the EU to support qualified foreign investor (QFI) trading on the Beijing Stock Exchange.

In addition to Deutsche Bank, foreign financial institutions have also been expanding their operations in China. Schroder Investment Management (China) becomes the fifth wholly foreign-owned public fund management firm in China that obtained approval for establishment.

In 2022, the actual used foreign investment nationwide reached $189.13 billion, a year-on-year increase of 8 percent, data from China's Ministry of Commerce revealed on Wednesday. 

Foreign investment from South Korea, Germany and UK surged significantly with an increase of 64.2 percent, 52.9 percent and 40.7 percent respectively, while the investment from the EU, members under China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and ASEAN increased by 92.2 percent, 17.2 percent and 8.2 percent respectively.