LONDON — The Finance Ministry issued three-year government bond worth 3 billion RMB (about $457 million) has been successfully listed at London Stock Exchange (LSE).

This is the first ever sovereign RMB bond issued outside China, and also the world’s first local currency sovereign bond issued outside the domestic market, said Shi Yaobin, vice-minister of the Finance Ministry, here on June 8.

“This is the new practice in China’s financial opening-up process, and also makes history in the development of the global capital market,” Shi said.

Hailing the issuance as a “milestone”, he said it represents a new achievement in the China-Britain financial cooperation.

It also demonstrates the new status of achieving progress while ensuing stability in China’s economic performance, the official said.

Moreover, he said the issuance injects new impetus into the development of offshore RMB market.

Harriett Baldwin, economic secretary to the HM Treasury, said the issue “signals the next step in the internationalization of RMB.”

The issuance was announced by the Finance Ministry on May 25 and orders have been received from a wide range of global investors. The deal was 2.8 times over-subscribed, with final allocations of 58 percent to EMEA (European, Middle Eastern and African) investors and 42 percent to Asian investors.