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) — During this year’s Two Sessions, the National People’s Congress Financial and Economic Committee proposed actively and prudently resolving debt issues and strengthening local government debt management. Specific recommendations include promoting the 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 decrease in issuance of urban investment bonds compared to the previous month, with net financing of 6.828 billion yuan. In previous months, net financing for urban investment companies has been negative.

Third-party机构指出 that 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 a total规模 of 258.549 billion yuan. After a rebound in January, February’s net financing was significantly lower than 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 remains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, mid-term notes dominate, with an issuance规模 of 64.78 billion yuan, accounting for 25.1%. Regarding募集方式, private placement bonds are主导, with an issuance规模 of 96.175 billion yuan, accounting for 37.2%.

Looking at issuance成本, the票面利率 of urban investment bonds has decreased to 2.11% from 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 32.675 billion yuan month-on-month, and a year-on-year decline of 108.898 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 206.651 billion yuan, about 82.1% of total funds. The amount used to repay interest-bearing debt was 34.95 billion yuan, with both combined accounting for nearly 96%. In contrast, funds used for “project construction” and “working capital” were 6 billion yuan and 4.27 billion yuan respectively,占比微乎其微.

In the secondary市场, according to third-party机构 YY评级, trading情绪 in February was低, and due to持债跨年情绪 and geopolitical影响, urban investment bond 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, with platform退出进程提前超预期

Recently, Xinhua News Agency披露 the “14th National People’s Congress Financial and Economic Committee review report on the implementation of the 2025 central and local budgets and the draft 2026 budgets,” which includes six建议 for fiscal work, one of which is to optimize debt restructuring and swap methods, increase support for resolving非标 and “double non” debts, promote risk prevention and resolution of operational debt for financing platform companies, and strictly prohibit the establishment or transformation of various 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 repayment tasks, and accelerating repayment of overdue企业账款.

Industry insiders say that local debt resolution actions face明确时间节点 constraints. Under the policy of achieving zero financing platform debt 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动态 more直观ly reflect the实际情况 of this process, with few new platforms and many退出 platforms. 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). Meanwhile, 12 urban investment companies退出融资平台 in the same month.

Third-party机构 信堡投研指出 that future压力 for urban investment companies lies in转型 and推进平台实操, which means 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. Differentiation may become a key word.

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