SINGAPORE - Bank of China on Thursday launched a new centre here to promote the Chinese bond market to investors in the region.

The new Debt Capital Market Centre aims to help Bank of China boost its underwriting business for panda bonds. Panda bonds refer to yuan-denominated bonds issued in China by non-Chinese entities.

Last year, there were 29 panda bond issuers who issued 127 billion yuan worth of bonds, an increase of 2.6 times versus 2015.

The new centre will also help Bank of China increase its presence in Asia Pacific's growing debt capital markets, which reached a record volume of US$1.45 trillion last year, up 16 per cent from 2015.