Bank of China's US dollar debt deal - the first sold to US investors by the onshore arm of a Chinese lender - has been a knockout success.

The 10-year bond priced on Thursday morning at 270 basis points over US Treasuries, considerably tighter than the initial guidance of 300 bps. The $3bn deal attracted a whopping $18bn of orders from 580 accounts. More than a quarter of the BBB+ rated deal went to US funds, with Asian accounts taking 60 per cent, writes Josh Noble in Hong Kong.

Chinese banks have been tapping bond markets aggressively offshore this year, with the BoC deal taking the total beyond $20bn (or $30bn including those issued in remninbi). Many are exploiting low interest rates and loosening of borrowing rules to help bolster balance sheets ahead of an expected rise in non-performing loans.