中國擬改革主權債發行體制

China is considering an overhaul of sovereign debt issuance as the world’s third-largest bond market seeks closer integration with the global financial system.

在中國尋求與全球金融體系更密切地整合之際，這個全球第三大債市正在考慮全面改革其主權債發行體制。

People close to the discussions say the country has been urged to rewrite its sovereign bond contracts in order to show support for a new Washington-backed financial framework designed to improve the relationship between governments and creditors.

與相關磋商關係密切的人士表示，中國已在催促下重新擬定其主權債合同，以反映出對一種新融資框架的支持。這種美國政府支持的新融資框架旨在改善政府與債權人間的關係。

International sovereign debt markets have undergone a radical transformation in the past two years as policymakers and financial institutions seek to prevent a repeat of the messy and protracted debt crisis that trapped Argentina for over a decade.

過去，阿根廷曾深陷一場混亂而曠日持久的債務危機，危機的持續時間在十年以上。爲此，在各國政策制定者和金融機構力圖防止再次發生此類危機之際，國際主權債市場已在過去兩年上演一場根本轉型。

In 2014, following Argentina’s second default in 13 years, a group representing more than 400 of the world’s largest banks, investors and debt issuers convened to create a new set of clauses for inclusion in government bond contracts. They focus on strengthening collective action clauses and clarifying the controversial pari passu clause used by hedge funds to argue for full repayment of Argentina’s defaulted debt.

2014年，在阿根廷出現13年內第二次違約之後，一個代表逾400家全球最大銀行、投資者和債券發行商的組織舉行了會晤，擬定了一系列可納入政府債券合同的新條款。該組織成員關注的焦點有兩方面，一方面是加強集體行動條款(collective action clause)，一方面是澄清有爭議的同等權益條款(pari passu clause)。對衝基金曾把後者作爲全額償付阿根廷違約債券的辯護理由。

The changes, which have received the backing of the International Monetary Fund and authorities in Washington, have been adopted by countries including MeXico and Poland. Last year a G20 communiqué called for the inclusion of strengthened pari passu and collective action clauses in all future international sovereign bonds.

這些變更得到了國際貨幣基金組織(IMF)和美國政府當局的支持。它已被包括墨西哥和波蘭等國在內的多個國家採納。去年，二十國集團(G20)一份公報曾呼籲將同等權益條款和集體行動條款的強化版納入所有未來的國際主權債中。

China has also stated its public support for the changes.

中國也曾口頭表達對這些變更的公開支持。

At a G20 meeting for finance ministers and central bank governors in Paris last month, Zhou Xiaochuan, People’s Bank of China governor, said: “We must continue to promote orderly restructuring of sovereign debt, including inserting strengthened contract provisions into newly issued and existing sovereign bonds, as well as incentivising strengthened co-ordination between government creditors and debtors.”

上個月在巴黎召開的一次二十國集團財政部長和央行行長會議上，中國央行(PBoC)行長周小川曾表示：“（我們必須）繼續推動主權債的有序重組，包括將加強的合同條款引入新發行和存量主權債中，以及鼓勵官方債權人和債務人加強協調。”

However, the country has so far opted not to include the new contracts in sovereign bonds.

不過到目前爲止，中國選擇不在主權債中納入新的合同。

Foreign ownership of Chinese government debt remains a fraction of the total at close to 2 per cent, but according to Deutsche Bank it could reach 10 per cent by 2020 as Beijing loosens restrictions and attempts to widen the available pool of capital.

目前，外國對中國政府債券的持有比例依然只有近2%。不過根據德意志銀行(Deutsche Bank)的說法，由於中國政府放寬限制並試圖擴大可用資金池，到2020年以前這一比例或達到10%。

“Foreign ownership of bonds in China is limited,” said Neil Weller at JPMorgan Asset Management. “So it makes sense that China would be interested in this path of internationalisation.”

摩根大通資產管理公司(JPMorgan Asset Management)的尼爾•韋勒(Neil Weller)表示：“外國投資者對中國債券的持有十分有限。因此，中國對這種國際化路線感興趣是有道理的。”

Alexi Chan, head of HSBC’s debt capital markets in Asia, said China‘s overall goal was to promote the renminbi as an international currency.

匯豐銀行(HSBC)亞洲債券資本市場主管Alexi Chan表示，中國的總體目標是將人民幣推升爲國際貨幣。

China had only $65bn in foreign-currency government bonds outstanding at the end of 2015, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, compared with more than $1.5tn worth of renminbi-denominated bonds, according to the main domestic bond clearinghouses.

根據中國國家外匯管理局(State Administration of Foreign Exchange)的數據，2015年底中國外匯政府公債餘額只有650億美元。相比之下，根據主要的國內債券結算機構的數據，以人民幣結算的債券規模逾1.5萬億美元。