May 27th, some banks opened sales to individual investors for the second phase product of the 2024 ultra-long-term special government bonds. The bond issued this time is very similar to the first phase product issued a week prior, including participation from banks such as China Merchants Bank and Zhejiang Commercial Bank. The Ministry of Finance successfully issued these 20-year special government bonds via bidding on May 24th, with an expected issue size of 40 billion yuan, and the coupon rate was set at 2.49%. Interest on these bonds will commence on May 25th, 2024, and they will officially begin trading on the market on May 29th.

Despite May 25th and 26th being the weekend, resulting in the sales being limited to a single day on May 27th, from 10:00 AM to 3:30 PM, this did not affect the high level of sales. It is understood that the 2024 ultra-long-term special government bonds (second phase) are issued in book-entry form, targeting individual customers with a risk rating of A3 and above. However, minors and overseas individuals are ineligible to purchase. Additionally, the banks provided various purchase channels including mobile banking, personal computer online banking, and offline counter services, while not allowing purchasing on behalf of others.

It is worth noting that compared to the first phase of bonds, China Merchants Bank added a mobile banking channel for purchasing the second phase bonds. Furthermore, customers can not only purchase bonds but can also view their bond holdings information and participate in secondary market trading through the mobile banking app of China Merchants Bank. On the same day, the 27th, Zhejiang Commercial Bank began selling the second phase special bonds from 10:00 AM. In terms of quota, before sales began, Zhejiang Commercial Bank showed that there were 800,000 bonds available for purchase, totaling 80 million yuan, which is a notable increase from the 30 million yuan for the first phase. China Merchants Bank displayed that 5 million bonds were ready for sale, totaling 500 million yuan, maintaining the same quota as the first phase.

During the previous sales on May 20th, China Merchants Bank and Zhejiang Commercial Bank also targeted individual investors for the sale of 30-year special government bonds, with sales quotas of 500 million yuan and 30 million yuan, respectively, which were enthusiastically received. The quota from Zhejiang Commercial Bank sold out very quickly, and an additional 10 million yuan had to be added. Reportedly, the 80 million yuan quota from Zhejiang Commercial Bank was fully snapped up in less than 10 minutes during this sale, and even after adding quotas at 10:30 AM, more than half were sold within 15 minutes. On the other hand, China Merchants Bank sold out its quota of 500 million yuan in government bonds in approximately 20 minutes, and some bank staff indicated that the rush lasted only a few minutes before the quota was rapidly sold out.

The interest payment frequency for this issue of bonds is semi-annually. At the start of sales, the issue price of the "Special Bond 24-02" and the bond denomination were both 100 yuan. Investors could subscribe in multiples of the 100 yuan denomination without any limit on the subscription amount.

Compared to savings bonds, book-entry treasury bonds can be traded in the market during their tenure, and their trading prices fluctuate with market conditions. This means that investors may gain from selling the bonds at higher prices after purchase; likewise, they also face the risk of losses if the prices drop. For those investors seeking profits through trading rather than holding to maturity, a certain level of investment experience and risk tolerance is required.

According to the Ministry of Finance, book-entry treasury bonds are issued to institutional investors on the primary market through an underwriting syndicate, with the bond rights recorded electronically by the Central Settlement Company. After listing, individual investors can also purchase this type of treasury bond from institutional investors through the secondary market. Channels for purchase include banks and securities companies.

The newly issued 20-year special treasury bonds are expected to be released for trading in the secondary market on May 29. Previously, the super long-term special treasury bonds (Issue 1) of 2024 experienced significant volatility on their first day of trading, including two temporary suspensions. Nevertheless, the total trading volume on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges did not exceed 100 million yuan on the first day. Market experts remind retail investors to be aware of the risks of irrational trading and suggest focusing more on the long-term value of allocations to avoid overly optimistic expectations for future coupon earnings.

In subsequent trading days, the "24 Special National 01" saw an increase in trading volume on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, exceeding 700 million and 1.1 billion yuan, respectively, with a noticeably reduced fluctuation range compared to the first day. It is worth noting that individual investors buying book-entry treasury bonds from banks participate in the interbank bond market trades, which are primarily institutional investors and typically exhibit more stable fluctuation ranges than the exchange market.

Judging by the bidding fervor, the overall subscription rate for the first batch of 20-year special treasury bonds reached 4.34 times, with the marginal rate at 1.05. In the previous issuance on May 17, of the first batch of 30-year super long-term special treasury bonds, the subscription rate was 3.9 times, with a marginal rate of 382.6, demonstrating the market's keen interest in this type of bond.