長城資產管理公司救助中國首隻違約債券

A state-owned bad loan bank has agreed to bail out China’s first domestic bond default, in a move that could reinforce the assumption that even risky credit enjoys an implicit government guarantee.

一家國有壞賬銀行已同意救助中國首筆國內債券違約，此舉可能使人們更加相信一個假設：即便高風險的信貸也享受隱性政府擔保。

Shanghai Chaori Solar, which in March failed to meet an interest payment on Rmb1bn worth of bonds, announced a restructuring plan yesterday under which some creditors could face haircuts of up to 80 per cent.

昨日，上海超日太陽能(Shanghai Chaori Solar)公佈了一項重組方案，根據該方案，部分債權人可能面臨最高80%的減記。今年3月，超日太陽能未能如期兌付10億元人民幣債券的利息。

But holders of Chaori’s exchange-traded bonds may be repaid in full thanks to a guarantee worth Rmb880m ($143m) issued by Great Wall Asset Management, one of the four bad loan banks that the government established in the late 1990s to buy toxic assets from the big four state-owned banks.

但是，由於長城資產管理公司(Great Wall Asset Management)出具了一份價值8.80億元人民幣（合1.43億美元）的保函，超日的交易所交易債券的持有人可能獲得全額兌付。長城資產管理公司是中國政府於20世紀90年代末設立的四家壞賬銀行之一，其使命是向四大國有銀行購買有毒資產。

“There’s no information about what Great Wall is getting in return for their guarantee,” said Wang Ming, director at Yaozhi Asset Management in Shanghai. “It certainly looks like a government-directed move to uphold social stability.”

“目前不清楚長城資產管理公司本身會從出具保函得到什麼，”上海耀之資產管理(Yaozhi Asset Management)合夥人王明說。“這看起來肯定像是政府主導的保持社會穩定的做法。”

Analysts in March hailed Chaori’s default as a landmark for market discipline in China’s corporate bond market, where investors long assumed the government would never permit a default.

今年3月，許多分析師把超日違約稱頌爲中國公司債市場嚴守市場紀律的一塊里程碑。在該市場，投資者長期假定政府絕不會允許發生違約。

A precedent-setting default would force investors to evaluate borrowers more carefully, resulting in rational risk pricing and, ultimately, improved capital allocation, they said at the time.

分析師們當時表示，一場確立先例的違約將迫使投資者更仔細地評估借款人，導致理性的風險定價，最終改善資本配置。

But the apparent bailout may rekindle bond investors’ appetite for riskier credit amid a revival of what local investors call the “rigid repayment” expectations for publicly issued bonds in China.

但是，明顯的救助可能重燃債券投資者對於較高風險信貸的需求。國內投資者對中國公開發行債券的“剛性兌付”預期已被再度激活。

The rescue also comes as rating agencies warn that defaults are likely to rise as the economy slows and borrowers grapple with the overhang from a huge increase in corporate and government debt since the global financial crisis.

此次救助方案出臺之際，評級機構警告稱，隨着經濟增長放緩，隨着借款人艱難應對自全球金融危機以來大幅增加的公司與政府債務，違約很可能增多。

Great Wall provided its guarantee jointly with another entity, Shanghai Eternal Sunshine Investment Management Centre. The company has no website, and an internet search turns up no references to the centre before yesterday. That suggests it may be a special-purpose vehicle used by the local government to share the cost of the bailout with Great Wall, according to Mr Wang. Chaori narrowly avoided a previous bond default in January 2013 after a Shanghai district government persuaded banks to defer claims for overdue loans.

長城資產管理公司與另一家實體上海久陽投資管理中心(Shanghai Eternal Sunshine Investment Management Centre)共同出具了上述保函。上海久陽投資管理中心並無網站，在互聯網上也搜不到昨日之前有關該中心的任何信息。王明稱，這似乎表明，它可能是當地政府用來與長城資產管理公司分擔救助成本的一件特殊目的工具。2013年1月，上海一個區政府說服銀行延緩要求收回拖欠的貸款，超日得以勉強逃過債券違約。

“Great Wall and Eternal Sunshine only guaranteed the corporate bond, not the other debt,” said Sun Binbin, fixed-income analyst at China Merchants Securities. “This is a difference between public versus privately issued debt. ‘Rigid repayment’ has always existed for public debt. That’s going to continue for some time.”

“長城資產管理和久陽投資僅擔保公司債券，而不包括其他債務，”招商證券(China Merchants Securities)固定收益分析師孫彬彬說。“公共債務和私人部門發行的債務有很大的不同。公共債務歷來是‘剛性兌付’的。這種狀況將持續一段時間。”

Great Wall did not respond to requests for comment.

長城資產沒有回覆記者的置評請求。

More than 90 per cent of Chinese companies trade in the institutional market, but Chaori’s bond traded on the Shenzhen stock exchange, which is dominated by retail investors. That probably added to political pressure to protect Chaori’s bondholders from losses. The guarantee is contingent on bondholders approving the overall restructuring plan at a meeting scheduled for October 23.

超過90%的中國公司債在機構市場進行交易，但超日債在以散戶投資者爲主的深圳證交所進行交易。這很可能增加了保護超日債券持有人不受損失的政治壓力。相關方面定於10月23日召開一次會議，如果超日債券持有人在會上批准了全面重組方案，擔保方可生效。

The move by Great Wall raises questions for investors in bad banks, which began as tools of government financial policy but have since stated their intention to operate as profit-driven entities.

長城資產管理的救助行動，導致投資者對壞賬銀行產生疑問。壞賬銀行起初充當了政府金融政策的工具，但後來聲明瞭作爲利潤驅動實體開展經營的意願。