North China's Shanxi province issued government bonds worth 27 billion yuan ($4.17 billion) to open tendering on April 19, the official website of Shanxi Finance Department announced.

The bonds are of various maturity periods, with 2.7 billion yuan issued in three-year bonds and 8.1 billion yuan issued in each of five-, seven-, and ten-year bonds.

The bonds are used to pay the principal of local government debt accrued by December 31, 2015, overdue debt, matured debts so far in 2016 and high-interest debts.

Shanxi government issued the bonds to optimize government debt structure and ensure enough money is in place for a higher quality of life based on improved economic and social growth.