中國祭出的託市新招未能奏效

Chinese investors have ignored efforts by the securities regulator to curb downward pressure on the country’s tumbling stock market, with bourses in Shanghai and Shenzhen registering hefty declines on Thursday.

中國證券監管機構已採取多項舉措，試圖減輕不斷下跌的中國股市的下行壓力，但中國投資者對此卻並不買賬。週四，上海和深圳股市出現大幅下跌。

Moves by the China Securities Regulatory Commission late on Wednesday to relax collateral rules on margin loans failed to staunch market losses on Thursday, with the Shanghai Composite Index falling as much as 5.5 per cent — deepening Wednesday’s 5.3 per cent decline — while Shenzhen was down 5.8 per cent.

週三晚，中國證監會採取行動，放寬了融資融券擔保物規定，但這並沒能阻止股市在週四繼續下跌：上證綜指下跌了3.48%，收於3912.77點，深證綜指則收跌5.55%。

Margin finance has been a major driver of the rally that propelled China's main stock index to a seven-year high on June 12, but the market has since tumbled more than 20 per cent due in part to worries about a clampdown on leveraged bets.

融資交易是這輪上漲行情的主要推動力之一。在這輪行情中，中國主要股指曾在6月12日觸及7年高點，但在那之後累計下跌了逾20%，部分原因是人們擔心監管機構打壓槓桿交易。

The China Securities Regulatory Commission said late on Wednesday that brokerages are free to set their own rules for demanding more collateral from clients when stocks bought with borrowed money fall in value. Previous rules required clients to add assets to their accounts when their collateral ratio dropped below 130 per cent, or else liquidate their positions.

週三晚，中國證監會表示，券商可以自行制定要求客戶追加擔保物的相關規定，這種要求追加擔保物的情況發生在客戶用所藉資金買入的股票發生貶值時。此前的規定要求，當客戶擔保比例低於130%時，就必須向其賬戶補充資產，否則就會遭遇強行平倉。

“The new CSRC rules to stop forced liquidation have hit the nail on the head and will calm the market for now,” Hao Hong, research director at Bocom International, wrote in a note.

交銀國際(Bocom International)研究總監洪灝在一份報告中寫道：“證監會的新規定停止強平盤擊中了問題要害，將暫時使市場平靜。”

Stock exchange data show that after surging to a high of Rmb2.27tn ($366bn) on June 18 — from Rmb401bn a year earlier — outstanding margin loans have fallen Rmb236bn. But Mr Hao also warned that the relaxation may sow the seeds for a future crisis.

證券交易所數據顯示，中國股市融資餘額在6月18日激增至2.27萬億元人民幣（一年前爲4010億元人民幣）之後，已減少2360億元人民幣。但洪灝表示，放寬擔保物規定可能爲未來的危機埋下種子。

“Beyond the short term, we believe margin call is a necessary risk management mechanism for brokers. The premise of margin trades is that asset prices will rise perpetually. It simply cannot be true,” he said.

他說：“展望未來，我們認爲追加保證金是券商的一個必要的風險管理機制。融資交易的前提是資產價格將永遠上漲。然而，這是不可能的。”

In addition to loosening collateral requirements, the new rules allow margin loans to be extended for longer than the previous six-month limit, and eliminate the requirement that margin clients must have assets in their securities account worth at least Rmb500,000.

除了放寬擔保物要求，新規還允許融資融券合約展期至此前的限制（即6個月）以上，並取消了融資融券客戶證券賬戶資產的價值不得低於50萬元人民幣的規定。

The CSRC first proposed the changes on June 12 in the form of draft rules open for a month-long public comment period. But in its statement on Wednesday the regulator said that “because the situation is special” the rules would now take effect immediately.

這些改革舉措是中國證監會在6月12日以草案形式首次提出的，並啓動了爲時一個月的徵求公衆意見期。不過，在週三發佈的這份聲明中，該會表示“因情況特殊”，規定會盡快實施。

Also late on Wednesday, the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges as well as the state-backed clearing house lowered transaction fees on stock trades by 30 per cent, from 0.0696 per cent to 0.0487 per cent. China Securities Depository and Clearing, the state-backed clearing house, also cut its transfer fee by about a third.

同樣在週三晚，滬、深證券交易所和中國證券登記結算公司(China Securities Depository and Clearing)將A股交易經手費下調30%，從0.0696%降至0.0487%。此外，中國證券登記結算公司還把A股交易過戶費下調了大約三分之一。

The finance ministry and stock exchanges have traditionally used taxes and fees to influence the market, either to boost flagging sentiment or to cool an overheated rally. Many analysts also expect the finance ministry to follow with a reduction in the stamp tax, which is also levied on stock transactions.

傳統上，中國財政部和證券交易所會以稅費爲手段影響市場，或爲提振低迷的市場情緒，或爲過熱的上漲勢頭降溫。許多分析師還預計，中國財政部隨後會降低印花稅。

In another effort to buoy the market the securities regulator issued rules expanding finance options for securities brokerages. A pilot project that allowed 20 large brokerages to sell bonds on the stock exchange will be expanded to the entire industry.

另一項託市的舉措是，中國證監會發布規定，擴大了券商的融資渠道。此前推出的一個允許20家大型券商在股市出售債券的試點項目，將推廣至整個行業。

Brokerages will also be permitted to securitise their margin loans, boosting their ability to expand margin lending without burdening their own balance sheets.

此外，券商還被允許將其融資融券收益權資產證券化，從而在不爲其資產負債表增加負擔的同時，提升其發放保證金貸款的能力。