香港金管局向銀行提供人民幣流動性

Hong Kong's central bank will start providing Chinese currency loans to the city's banks today to prevent a shortage of liquidity from destabilising the offshore renminbi market.

香港事實上的央行將從週五起向當地銀行提供人民幣貸款，以防流動性短缺破壞這個離岸人民幣市場的穩定。

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced yesterday that it would offer one-week renminbi loans in exchange for high-quality collateral such as Chinese government bonds.

香港金融管理局(HKMA)昨日宣佈，將提供期限爲1周的短期人民幣貸款，並接受中國國債等高質量抵押品。

"Such a backstop facility will calm nerves as banks will be able to approach the monetary authority for more renminbi funds whenever necessary," HSBC wrote to clients. Liquidity squeezes have shaken the offshore renminbi money markets three times this year, with short-term interest rates spiking as lenders scrambled for funds.

"這種後盾安排將有助於安撫緊張情緒，因爲各銀行將能夠根據需要，隨時從金管局獲得更多人民幣資金，"匯豐(HSBC)在發送給客戶的資料中寫道。今年，流動性緊縮已經三次衝擊離岸人民幣貨幣市場，隨着各銀行忙於籌措資金，短期利率出現激增。

Analysts said the HKMA's new loan facility would alleviate short-term tightness in the market, which has grown rapidly over the past two years but is still small and illiquid.

分析師們表示，香港金管局新推出的貸款安排，將緩解市場的短期緊張，過去兩年來，香港的離岸人民幣市場快速發展，但其規模仍較小，流動性也不夠好。

The offshore renminbi market began in Hong Kong in 2010 and has since spread to London and Singapore.

離岸人民幣市場是2010年在香港率先起步的，自那以來已擴展至倫敦和新加坡。

There are few restrictions on renminbi trading in these offshore centres, but Beijing retains extensive capital controls that cut them off from the vast pool of liquidity on the mainland. As investors have stopped expecting the renminbi to appreciate against the dollar in recent months, total renminbi deposits in Hong Kong have fallen 12 per cent from a November 2011 peak of Rmb627bn.

在這些離岸金融中心，人民幣交易幾乎不受任何限制，但北京方面保留全方位的資本管制，實際上將這些離岸人民幣市場與中國內地巨大的流動資金池隔離開來。近幾個月來，隨着投資者不再預期人民幣將相對於美元升值，香港的人民幣存款總額已從2011年11月6270億元人民幣的峯值回落12%。

At the same time, Hong Kong banks have expanded their renminbi loans, raising concerns about a lack of liquidity. The HKMA facility makes use of its Rmb400bn currency swap arrangement with the People's Bank of China.

與此同時，香港各銀行已擴充其人民幣貸款業務，令人擔憂缺乏流動性的問題。香港金管局的貸款安排，將利用其與中國央行之間的4000億元人民幣貨幣互換協議。

The monetary authority said rates on its renminbi loans would be determined "by reference to prevailing market interest rates".

香港金管局表示，其人民幣貸款的利率將"參考當前市場利率"決定。

Weisheng He, Asia forex strategist at Citibank, said that until the HKMA specified the exact rates on the facility, it would be hard to determine how much it would impact the market.

花旗(Citibank)亞洲外匯策略師賀偉晟表示，在香港金管局指明這項貸款安排的準確利率之前，難以判斷它將對市場產生什麼樣的影響。

"It will certainly cap the upside in liquidity squeezes and the knowledge that HKMA can provide a liquidity backstop will also reduce the risk of liquidity squeeze," Mr He said.

"它肯定有助於遏制流動性緊縮，使其不致失控。人們知道香港金管局能夠提供流動性後盾，這也將降低流動性緊縮的風險，"賀偉晟表示。

The HKMA said Hong Kong government bonds and exchange fund bills and notes, denominated in Hong Kong dollars, would be acceptable collateral.

香港金管局表示，以港幣計價的香港特區政府債券以及外匯基金票據和債券，也將是合格抵押品。

It added that while banks could roll over the borrowings under the facility, it "should not be regarded as a steady source of funding for their business".

該機構補充稱，儘管各銀行在這項貸款安排下能夠將借款展期，但它們"不應把這項流動資金安排當作其業務的穩定資金來源"。