Chinese automotive lender floats 1.5 billion yuan bond issue
GMAC-SAIC Automotive Finance Co. says it has issued a 1.5 billion yuan ($226 million) bond to finance auto loans and dealer inventories in China.
The Shanghai-based finance company says the three-year bond will carry a floating interest rate, with the rate set at 3 percent for the first year. The bond has been rated AAA by the Dagong Global Credit Rating Co.
According to GMAC-SAIC, this is the first financial bond floated by an automotive finance company in China.
The company is a joint venture between Ally Financial - formerly GMAC Inc., General Motors Co.'s in-house finance company - Shanghai Automotive Group Finance Co., and Shanghai General Motors Co.
In a market where new-car purchasers are starting to move away from all-cash transactions, automotive lenders like GMAC-SAIC are expanding rapidly.
The six-year-old venture has retail assets of 16.9 billion yuan. In the first eight months of 2010, it has signed 109,000 retail loan contracts, exceeding its total for all of 2009.
