Fearing the possibility of new rounds of interest hikes in the near future, Chinese buyers have turned a cold shoulder towards the new electronic savings bonds on the first day of their issuance, the "Shenyang Evening News" reported.
The new electronic savings bonds, issued by the Ministry of Finance in three batches with one to five years' terms, have a total value of 30 billion yuan, with fixed annual interest rates of 2.85%, 4.25% and 4.6%.
Despite an obvious interest hike compared to previous electronic savings bonds, the interests gained from buying 10,000 yuan (1,500 U. S. dollar) worth of one-year treasury bonds was only 35 yuan higher than that the interests generated from 10,000 yuan one-year fixed deposit.
This may have contributed to the unpopularity of the bonds, with many bank outlets having not yet sold a single bond, according to the staff of several major banks.
A citizen surnamed Huo said that the continuously rising CPI and the recently increased deposit reserve requirement ratio both indicate the high possibility of interest rates being raised again in the near future.
Instead of treasury bonds, financial products issued by banks are popular among investors, the report said.
A financial product with an annual return rate of 3.92 percent issued by the China Construction Bank on Nov 15, for instance, was snapped up within a short time, the report said.
