"Foreign underwriters have an advantage over Chinese counterparts in helping foreign companies tap China's bond market because they know overseas clients a lot better," said CG Lai, the Greater China head of global markets at BNP Paribas in Shanghai. JPMorgan and BNP Paribas received approval last month to underwrite corporate bonds regulated by the central bank. That followed a twelve-fold increase in panda bond offerings to 120 billion yuan last year. The People's Bank of China regulated 34 per cent of those securities. The onshore debt market offers the cheapest funding in yuan, according to Mr Lai. The average yield on three-year Dim Sum bonds - yuan notes issued offshore - is about 110 basis points higher than Chinese onshore securities of the same tenor, according to a Bank of China Ltd index.