The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank announced it has completed a public Hong Kong dollar-denominated bond offering, raising HK$4 billion.

The transaction marks the first time an international issuer has issued a Hong Kong dollar bond in a public format and will be settled locally in the Central Moneymarkets Unit.

The three-year Sustainable Development Bond pays an annual coupon of around 3.85 percent and has attracted investors both domestically and across Asia-Pacific, with a final order book of over HK$9 billion as well as over 25 orders, according to the bank.

AIIB said the issuance marked the opening of the public Hong Kong dollar market to international issuers and it will help enable investors to diversify their assets while supporting the bank’s public market expansion.