中國首次在倫敦發行30億元人民幣國債

China issued its first sale of offshore government debt in London’s fledgling renminbi market yesterday, borrowing Rmb3bn ($457m) in a deal that attracted hefty demand.

中國昨日在倫敦起步不久的人民幣市場發行了首筆離岸政府債務，借入30億元人民幣（合4.57億美元），這筆交易吸引了巨大需求。

The finance ministry bond drew orders of Rmb8.5bn from investors evenly split between Asia and Europe, Africa and the Middle East, according to HSBC, one of the banks hired to arrange the sale.

據受僱安排此次發債的銀行之一匯豐(HSBC)介紹，中國財政部債券吸引了85億元人民幣的認購，投資者差不多一半來自亞洲，另一半來自歐洲、非洲和中東地區。

In China, the government’s debut London bond was viewed as a way to measure overseas demand for Chinese assets in the wake of a currency devaluation that shocked markets last August and a stock market rout in January that led to the biggest monthly drop in shares for seven years.

在中國，政府在倫敦首次發行債券被視爲衡量海外對中國資產需求的一種方式，此前去年8月人民幣匯率突然下調震動全球市場，而今年1月的股市暴跌帶來股市七年來最大單月跌幅。

Even the country’s bond market, which has enjoyed a near-two-year rally, is the subject of concern after a spate of defaults by state-owned enterprises that has prompted a rise in bond yields.

就連保持漲勢近兩年的中國債券市場，近來也成爲擔心對象，原因是國有企業的一波違約導致債券收益率上升。

The bond maturing in 2019 was sold with a fixed coupon of 3.28 per cent — about 5 basis points above the yield at which an existing 2019 offshore Chinese bond trades — meaning investors were not demanding a large premium to buy the new debt.

在倫敦發行的中國主權債券將在2019年到期，票面利率固定，爲3.28%（比2019年到期的一隻現有中國離岸債券的收益率高出約5個基點），這意味着購買新債的投資者並未要求大的溢價。

The small size of the deal meant that it was of limited interest to mainstream international bondholders, according to an investor at one of Europe’s largest fund houses.

歐洲最大基金公司之一的一名投資人士表示，這筆交易的較小規模意味着國際主流債券持有人對它興趣有限。

China’s offshore bond market emerged around 2010 as Beijing encouraged greater international use of its currency in financial hubs.

中國的離岸債券市場在2010年前後誕生，當時北京方面開始推動人民幣國際化，鼓勵各金融中心擴大使用人民幣。

China has sought to attract international investors, resulting in growing competition between London, Frankfurt, Paris and Luxembourg to become the western hub for offshore renminbi trades.

中國一直尋求吸引國際投資者，這引發倫敦、法蘭克福、巴黎和盧森堡之間展開日益激烈的競爭，爲的是成爲離岸人民幣交易的西方樞紐。

The sale in London marks the first offshore issuance of sovereign paper by China.

此次在倫敦發債標誌着中國首次在香港以外的離岸市場發行人民幣主權債券。

George Osborne, UK chancellor, said China’s choice of London “reinforces the UK’s strong economic and financial relationship with China”.

英國財政大臣喬治•奧斯本(George Osborne)表示，中國選擇倫敦“加強了英中之間強大的經貿和金融關係”。

Last year China’s central bank made its debut on London markets with a sale of one-year paper that attracted Rmb30bn of orders and was expected to pave the way for further sales by providing a benchmark against which future deals could be priced.

去年，中國央行在倫敦市場首次發行央行票據，當時其發售的一年期票據吸引了300億元人民幣的認購，同時人們預計那次發行將爲未來交易提供定價基準，從而爲未來的發債鋪平道路。

Expansion of offshore Chinese bonds has been called into question as the country moves to open up its far larger onshore debt market.

離岸中國債券的擴張已受到質疑，因爲中國已採取措施開放其規模大得多的在岸債市。