A teller counts and arranges dollar notes at a bank in Huaibei, Anhui province. (Photo: Sipa)

The Ministry of Finance announced on Thursday that it had issued $6 billion sovereign bonds in Hong Kong, allowing qualified investors from the United States to buy the bonds for the first time, according to a notice on the ministry's website.

This is the fourth consecutive year of US dollar-denominated sovereign bonds issuance. The ministry started selling these bonds again since 2017. As the world's second-largest economy recently showed signals of stronger recovery, the buyers drew orders 4.7 times of the offering, it said.

The US-dollar debt was issued under "144A/Reg S" terms, which involved international rating companies and allowing institutional investors in the US to buy in for the first time.

Various financial institutions, including pension funds, commercial banks, insurance, asset management and fund management companies have purchased the bonds, the ministry said.

"The successful issuance of US-dollar sovereign bonds has further established and improved the benchmark yields to be more market-oriented, which reflected China's determination and confidence in a high-level opening up," the announcement read.

The bond offering will also consolidate the connection between domestic and international capital markets and strengthen China's cooperation with global investors.