中國第二例央企違約給國企改革帶來難題
China is bracing for its second bond default by a central government-owned company, offering one of the biggest tests yet of Beijing's willingness to impose market discipline on lossmaking state groups.
中國即將迎來第二例央企債券違約，這給中國政府讓虧損國企服從市場紀律的意願構成了一個最重大的考驗。
A unit of one of the elite club of 112 big enterprises directly owned by the central government, China National Erzhong Group employed a workforce of more than 13,000 in 2012, when it had assets of Rmb25bn. But a slowing economy saddled with industry overcapacity has hobbled the heavy industry group, leading to losses of Rmb8.4bn in 2014.
中國第二重型機械集團公司(China National Erzhong Group，簡稱二重)是由國資委監管的112家大型央企之一，2012年的員工總數超過1.3萬人，資產規模爲250億元人民幣。但經濟放緩以及行業產能過剩重創了這家重工業集團，2014年虧損達84億元人民幣。
Its looming default comes just a week after Beijing unveiled guidelines for an overhaul of state-owned enterprises aimed at improving their financial performance. SOEs control broad swaths of the economy but are heavily indebted and trail their privately owned counterparts in efficiency and profitability.
就在一週前，中國政府公佈了國企改革指導意見，旨在提高國企財務表現。國企佔據中國經濟很大比重，但負債累累，而且在效率和盈利能力方面都遜於私營企業。
China National Erzhong Group, which makes smelting and forging equipment for use in the power generation and aviation sectors, is a case in point. A subsidiary was delisted from the Shanghai Stock Exchange in May after four straight years of losses.
二重生產發電和航空領域使用的冶煉和鑄造設備。今年5月，在連續4年虧損後，該集團一子公司從上海證交所(Shanghai Stock Exchange)退市。
“Under the influence of the macroeconomic environment, the demand for the company's main products remains depressed, and our industry is suffering from severe overcapacity, making competition unusually fierce and causing the price of our products to slide lower,” Erzhong said in a filing late on Monday.
二重週一晚在一份文件中表示：“受宏觀經濟環境影響，公司主要產品需求持續疲弱，我們所在的行業正遭遇嚴重產能過剩，這使得競爭異常激烈，並導致我們產品的價格下跌。”
The company suspended trading of Rmb1bn in five-year notes sold in 2012, citing "uncertainty" about whether it could meet a Rmb56.5m ($8.9m) interest payment due next week.
該公司暫停了2012年發行的10億元人民幣的5年期債券的交易，指原因是“不確定”能否支付下週到期的5650萬元人民幣(合890萬美元)的利息。
China is on track for its slowest economic growth in a quarter of a century amid a slowdown in construction and manufacturing. Policymakers want to shift the economy away from smokestack industries towards consumption and services; the SOEs are concentrated in heavy industry, which thrived under the old growth model.
在建築業和製造業放緩之際，中國將遭遇25年來最慢經濟增速。政策制定者希望中國經濟從生產性工業轉向消費和服務業；大部分國企從事重工業，在舊的增長模式下，重工業曾一度繁榮。
For years, banks and bond investors paid scant attention to company fundamentals when lending to SOEs, assuming that the government would prevent any default. High-profile bailouts strengthened this perception. Economists say that has led to moral hazard, enabling state groups to rack up ever more debt and engage in wasteful investment.
多年來，在向國有企業發放貸款時，銀行和債券投資者幾乎甚少關注企業基本面，他們以爲政府會防範違約。高調紓困加深了這種看法。經濟學家表示，這引發了道德風險，使得國有企業得以累積更多債務並進行浪費型投資。
But in April Baoding Tianwei Group, which makes power generation equipment, became the first state-owned company to default on bonds when it missed a Rmb86m interest payment. Tianwei is still in bankruptcy and it remains unclear if bond investors will end up taking losses.
但今年4月，生產發電設備的保定天威集團(Baoding Tianwei Group)成爲中國首家債券違約的國有企業，該公司未能到期支付8600萬元人民幣的利息。天威現在已破產，目前還不清楚，債券投資者最終是否會承擔損失。
Beyond the debt issue, Erzhong is also a test case for the vision of SOE reform that calls for increasing efficiency by merging state groups to create even larger companies. In 2013 China’s cabinet approved a takeover of Erzhong by China National Machinery Industry Corp (Sinomach) but the merger failed to stem losses.
除了債務問題，二重還將測試國企改革的願景，改革計劃呼籲合併國企締造更大規模的企業，從而提高效率。2013年，中國國務院批准了中國機械工業集團(Sinomach)收購二重的計劃，但合併未能阻止虧損。
The reform guidelines released this month appeared to be a compromise between conservatives who favour consolidation of state-owned companies and liberals who advocate a more market-oriented approach based on bringing in private investors.
本月公佈的改革指導意見似乎是支持國企整合的保守派與支持引入私人投資者實施更多的以市場爲導向策略的自由派之間的妥協。
The plan called for classifying state groups between commercial and non-commercial entities. While commercial businesses should strive to maximise profits, those with a national security or public service function may continue to enjoy state support. It is unclear where a company such as Erzhong, with its connections to the defence industry, would fall.
該計劃呼籲把國企分成商業類和公益類。商業企業應努力實現利潤最大化，而那些具備國家安全或公共服務職能的企業可能會繼續享受政府支持。目前還不清楚，像二重這種與國防工業相關的企業屬於哪一類。
Additional reporting by Ma Nan
Ma Nan補充報道
