China to float year's first electronic savings bonds

China's Ministry of Finance (MOF) on Thursday announced that it will issue two batches of electronic savings bonds worth up to 40 billion yuan (6.5 billion U.S. dollars). According to a ministry statement, this will be the first time that it has issued such bonds this year. The first batch is worth up to 24 billion yuan and carries a term of three years with a fixed annual interest rate of 5 percent. The second issuance of five-year bonds is worth up to 16 billion yuan at a fixed annual interest rate of 5.41 percent, said the MOF. The bonds will be issued from April 10 to 19, and interest will be calculated from April 10 and paid annually, the statement noted. The bonds will be available to individual investors at counters of major banks, including the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications, China Merchants Bank, Bank of Beijing, Bank of Shanghai and China Guangfa Bank, it said. Electronic savings bonds are considered more convenient than other types, as interest can be paid directly into investors' accounts.