(ECNS) -- Brazil's Ministry of Finance said it plans to issue its first yuan-denominated sovereign panda bonds in China this year, with a target size of 5 billion yuan ($700 million).

If successful, Brazil may establish a regular issuance mechanism, creating a sovereign pricing benchmark to help Brazilian companies enter China's bond market and expand access to RMB financing.

The panda bond market has continued to grow rapidly. Wind data showed that as of Thursday, panda bond issuance in China had reached 202.475 billion yuan so far this year, up 73.57% year-on-year. The figure has already surpassed the full-year totals of 183.56 billion yuan in 2025 and 194.8 billion yuan in 2024, reaching a record high.

Analysts say the growing participation of overseas sovereign issuers will expand RMB use in global financial markets, strengthen cross-border circulation and enhance its role as a reserve, pricing and settlement currency, advancing the internationalization of the yuan.