BEIJING — Chinese authorities have unified the rules on information disclosure concerning all aspects of a company's corporate credit bonds, with the aim of better protecting investors.

On Dec 28, the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the National Development and Reform Commission and the China Securities Regulatory Commission jointly published the rules, which will take effect on May 1, 2021.

In China, companies can issue corporate credit bonds, which include non-financial enterprise debt financing instruments, corporate bonds and enterprise bonds, in the inter-bank market and exchanges. Until now, there were no unified rules for the three types of bonds regarding information disclosure.

Based on the practice of the domestic market and drawing on international experience, the new rules unify the requirements regarding information disclosure on issues such as essential documents, contents, timing and frequency, according to a statement posted on the website of the PBOC, the central bank.

The rules also make detailed requirements on the contents, structure and formats of bond prospectuses and periodic reports.

The PBOC said these more exact requirements for formulating bond prospectuses will prevent companies from copying templates and simplifying the necessary contents, as well as clarifying rights and responsibilities and helping to protect investors' rights and interests.

The total bond issuance in China stood at 4.7 trillion yuan (about $720.5 billion) in November, including 1 trillion yuan of corporate credit bonds, data from the central bank shows.