Municipal Bond Net Financing of 6.828 Billion Yuan in February, Significant Volume Contraction, "Exit Platform" Process Continues

Cailian Press, March 12 (Editor: Li Xiang, Intern: Wang Shujin)
This year’s Two Sessions, the National People’s Congress Financial and Economic Committee proposed actively and prudently resolving debt and strengthening local government debt management. Specific recommendations include promoting risk prevention and resolution of operational debt for financing platform companies and strictly prohibiting the establishment or transformation of various financing platforms.

According to the latest整理 by Cailian Press, the process of “retiring platforms” for urban investment companies is still ongoing, with 12 urban investment companies退出融资平台 in February. From the financing状况 of urban investment companies, February saw a month-on-month decrease in urban investment bond issuance, with net financing of 6.828 billion yuan. In previous months, net financing for urban investment companies had been negative.

Third-party机构指出 that the future压力 for urban investment companies lies in转型 and推进平台实操, with differentiation becoming a key word.

February urban investment bonds net financing of 6.828 billion yuan, a significant month-on-month decline

According to企业预警通 data, in February 2026, a total of 372 urban investment bonds were issued, with an issuance规模 of 258.549 billion yuan. After a rebound in January, the net financing in February dropped significantly compared to January, at 6.828 billion yuan.

(Source: 企业预警通,整理 by Cailian Press)

Regionally, the发行区域 of urban investment bonds仍显示明显分化. In February, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi ranked top in bond issuance, with amounts of 62.917 billion yuan, 43.965 billion yuan, and 15.737 billion yuan respectively, accounting for nearly 50% of total issuance.

(Source: 企业预警通,整理 by Cailian Press)

In terms of类型, mainly中期票据, with an issuance规模 of 64.78 billion yuan, accounting for 25.1%; in募集方式, private placement bonds dominate, with an issuance规模 of 96.175 billion yuan, accounting for 37.2%.

Regarding issuance成本, the票面利率 of urban investment bonds decreased to 2.11% in January, down 12 basis points month-on-month.

In terms of净融资, in February, urban investment bonds had a net融资 of 6.828 billion yuan, a significant decrease of 326.75 billion yuan month-on-month, and a year-on-year decline of 1,088.98 billion yuan.

In February 2026, the募集资金 for urban investment bonds was mainly used for “借新还旧.”

According to企业预警通 data, in February 2026, the amount used for “借新还旧” was 2,066.51 billion yuan, about 82.1% of the total, while the amount used for偿还有息债务 was 34.95 billion yuan, with both combined accounting for nearly 96%. In contrast, the amounts used for “项目建设” and “补充流动资金” were 600 million yuan and 427 million yuan respectively, accounting for a very small proportion.

In the secondary市场, according to third-party机构 YY评级, in February, trading情绪 in the secondary market for urban investment bonds was低迷, and due to持债跨年情绪 and geopolitical影响, yields generally declined. Bonds with maturity within 1 year declined within 5 basis points, 1-3 years declined mostly within 5-10 basis points, and 3-5 years declined mainly within 10-15 basis points.

Multiple regions express commitment to resolving operational debt risks of financing platforms, platform退出进程提前超预期

Recently, Xinhua News Agency disclosed the “Report on the Review Results of the 14th National People’s Congress Financial and Economic Committee on the Implementation of the Central and Local Budgets in 2025 and the Draft Central and Local Budgets for 2026” (hereinafter referred to as the “Report”). The NPC Financial and Economic Committee also提出 six建议 for better budget execution and fiscal work this year, including optimizing debt restructuring and swap methods, increasing support for非标 and“双非” debt resolution, promoting risk prevention and resolution of operational debt for financing platform companies, and strictly prohibiting new or transformed financing platforms.

According to公开信息整理 by Cailian Press, some provinces and cities have recently expressed积极态度 to resolve operational debt risks of financing platforms. For example, Yunnan Province stated it would optimize debt restructuring and swap methods and take multiple measures to resolve operational debt risks; Hunan Province emphasized严禁新增隐性债务, ensuring the completion of annual debt化解任务, and accelerating repayment of overdue企业账款.

Industry insiders say that各地的化债行动 are facing明确的时间节点 constraints. Under the policy of achieving zero financing platform assets by the end of June 2027, many regions have set 2026 as the deadline for complete退平台, with related expressions including确保, 力争, and推动, each emphasizing different力度 and节奏.

At the企业层面, the actual情况更直观地反映了这一进程. Few new platforms are being added, and many are退出. According to企业预警通 data, in February, 2 new urban investment platforms were added, namely Shandong Linyi Junan County Platform (AA) and Zhejiang Jiaxing Haining City Platform (AAA); at the same time, 12 urban investment companies退出融资平台 in February.

信堡投研, a third-party机构,指出 that the压力 for urban investment companies moving forward lies in转型 and推进平台实操. This means that some “hollowed out” assets of urban investment companies may support less of the existing debt, potentially causing greater negative impacts on bank loans and非标融资, with differentiation becoming a key word.

(Cailian Press, Li Xiang, Intern: Wang Shujin)