Bank of China UK issues 2.5 bln yuan-denominated bonds in London - report

(Corrects paragraph 4 to clarify that the bond, not the subsidiary bank, will be listed on the London stock exchange (Other OTC: LDNXF - news) )

SHANGHAI, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Bank of China (HKSE: 3988-OL.HK - news) 's London branch issued 2.5 billion yuan ($413 million) worth of yuan-denominated bonds in London on Wednesday local time, the first such issue by the UK branch of a Chinese bank, according to a statement by the bank and domestic media reports.

It comes as Beijing seeks to increase the international usage of its currency for trade and investment by foreign multinationals, even as it tinkers with liberalising its capital account at home.

The plan to conduct the issue was published on the Bank of China's website without specifying the amount, which was reported by the official Xinhua news service.

The announcement added that the bond will list on the London stock exchange.

"The funds raised from the deal will all be retained in London to support the further development of the London offshore RMB market as well as UK-China bilateral trade and investment," the Bank of China statement said.

The statement said HSBC, UBS (Xetra: UB0BL6 - news) and Bank of America Merrill Lynch have been appointed as joint managers for the issue, to be coordinated by Bank of China. ($1 = 6.0512 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Pete Sweeney; Editing by Chris Gallagher)