Beijing State-owned Assets Operation & Management Center sold its biggest bond since March 2009, as China's regional authorities rolled out investment plans to stimulate the economy.

The local-government financing vehicle, involved in industries ranging from steel to electronics to real estate, sold 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) of five-year bonds to yield 4.78 percent on Tuesday, according to a person familiar who asked not to be identified because the result isn't public.

It offered similar-maturity securities at 5 percent in December. Companies pay an average of 2.9 percent for debt globally, Bank of America Index shows.

Local investment arms, known as LGFVs, sold a record 330 billion yuan of bonds in the first half and have since raised another 68 billion yuan, prospectuses show.

While two interest-rate cuts in June and July by the People's Bank of China helped lower their borrowing costs, yields started to climb in the past six weeks as falling capital inflows caused a cash squeeze.

China Daily-Agencies