As of September 27, statistics from Qiye Yujingtong show that the scale of new special-purpose local government bonds (hereinafter referred to as "special bonds") issued during the year has exceeded 3.36 trillion yuan, completing more than 70% of the full-year quota of 4.4 trillion yuan.

Under the tone of a more proactive fiscal policy, special bonds, as a core policy tool for stabilizing investment and expanding domestic demand, have been deployed front-loaded and directed precisely, providing solid support for the stable operation of China's economy.

In terms of regional distribution, in the first half of the year, Guangdong, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Sichuan, Anhui, and Henan ranked highest in issuance amounts, at approximately 513.307 billion yuan, 279.977 billion yuan, 271.900 billion yuan, 257.771 billion yuan, 190.256 billion yuan, 163.343 billion yuan, and 153.794 billion yuan, respectively.

In the first half of the year, to further activate new momentum for local development, Hebei, Jiangxi, Hubei, and Chongqing were included in the pilot scope of "self-review and self-issuance" for local government special bond projects. The issuance scale of special bonds in these four regions during the year increased to 147.127 billion yuan, 89.247 billion yuan, 106.735 billion yuan, and 126.504 billion yuan, respectively.

From the perspective of fund allocation, the direction of new special bonds in the third quarter continued the pattern of the first half, mainly concentrated in three major areas: municipal and industrial park infrastructure, transportation infrastructure, and public livelihood services, which together accounted for more than 60%, while continuously expanding into areas such as land acquisition and reserves and emerging industries.

Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, special bond issuance will usher in the final concentrated release window of the year. Industry insiders believe that funds will land intensively during this stage and form physical work volume, which will play a supporting role for full-year growth and the start of next year.

The investment research team of Guotai Haitong Securities expects that the use of special bonds in the fourth quarter will be more flexible, and some provinces with insufficient project reserves may increase the issuance of special new special bonds.

The research team of China Chengxin International recommends further accelerating issuance and use, increasing the leverage of funds, improving project reserves, and strengthening full-process management; making good use of established stock policies, accelerating the progress of new special bond issuance and use, and, as appropriate, reserving and timely introducing incremental policies. At the same time, it is advisable to explore "negative list" management for areas where special bonds are used as capital and the "special bond plus" model, so as to better leverage the role of special bonds in achieving maximum results with minimal input.

In addition, multiple industry insiders said that the phenomenon of "emphasizing issuance while neglecting management" still exists, and how to make good use of these funds is crucial.

In the view of Luo Zhiheng, chief economist of Yuekai Securities, strengthening full-lifecycle performance management of special bonds in various regions has played a positive role in generating more physical work volume. At present, many places are also actively exploring practices to continuously improve quality and efficiency.

For example, the Department of Finance of Guangdong Province has continuously optimized and improved post-investment management ledgers, innovatively carried out post-investment management pilots, and clarified post-investment management responsibilities, striving to ensure that post-investment management is "clearly organized." Among these efforts, focusing on making the post-investment management ledger detailed and practical, the department has expanded the content of the post-investment management ledger to project funds, construction and operations, asset recording, and other links, forming a detailed ledger with relatively complete information and a relatively clear baseline.

In terms of improving the efficiency of fund use, the Department of Finance of Guangdong Province has also explored and innovated a "bond-loan linkage" investment and financing model, allowing eligible projects to arrange or adjust funds used as project capital according to actual conditions, fully leveraging the important role of special bonds in mobilizing and expanding effective investment. For example, for the Guangdong Water Resources Allocation Project around the Beibu Gulf, 4.6 billion yuan of special bonds were arranged as project capital, effectively leveraging 21.1 billion yuan of market-based financing.

The Department of Finance of Gansu Province has taken multiple measures to promote quality and efficiency improvement in bond allocation and use. For example, for regions with high debt risk levels, large temporary payment scales, and difficulty in repaying bond principal and interest, new quotas are strictly controlled, and only projects under construction may be issued; the information system sets early warning rules for bond payments, providing timely warnings and requiring corrections within a time limit for irregular use.

Li Xuhong, vice president of the Beijing National Accounting Institute, believes that in the future, the "self-review and self-issuance" pilot for special bonds should be continuously deepened, project reserves and demonstration of financing revenue balance should be strengthened, and funds should be ensured to flow into areas with genuine economic and social benefits. At the same time, performance management and supervisory accountability should be improved, and a full-lifecycle regulatory system for special bonds should be established to prevent idle or inefficient use of funds.