中國放寬外資債市准入

China has approved HSBC, Morgan Stanley and 30 other foreign institutions to invest in its $5.9tn domestic bond market, a big step towards opening its capital markets to foreign investment.

中國已批准匯豐(HSBC)和摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)等30多家外資機構投資其5.9萬億美元規模的境內債券市場，從而朝着向外資開放資本市場邁出一大步。

China has expanded foreign access to its stock market in recent years, but liberalisation of the domestic bond market — the world’s third-largest, behind the US and Japan — has proceeded more slowly. Economists say loosening restrictions on bond investment is crucial if China wants to persuade international investors to store their savings in renminbi. Heavyweights such as central banks, sovereign wealth funds, insurers and pension funds have portfolios weighted towards fixed income.

近年來，中國已擴大了外資對境內股票市場的准入，但境內債券市場的自由化則進展更慢。中國債券市場是僅次於美國和日本的世界第三大債券市場。經濟學家們表示，如果中國想要說服國際投資者以人民幣儲蓄，那麼放鬆對債券市場的管制是至關重要的。各國央行、主權財富基金、保險公司和養老基金等重量級機構，都在其投資組合中納入相當大權重的固定收益產品。

The approvals also come as China’s slowing economy and falling domestic interest rates spur capital outflows. Expanding inbound bond investment could help hedge against this.

中國採取此舉之際，國內經濟放緩以及利率下降正刺激資本外流。擴大外資投資境內債券可能有助於對衝這一趨勢。

Standard Chartered estimates that more than 50 central banks already hold some renminbi bonds among their foreign currency reserves.

據渣打(Standard Chartered)估算，全球逾50家央行已在其外匯儲備中持有一定的人民幣債券。

Many of these hold “dim sum” bonds traded in Hong Kong, which do not require Beijing’s approval, but foreign holdings of onshore bonds are also on the rise. Offshore institutions held Rmb579bn ($93bn) in interbank bonds by the end of March, up 44 per cent from a year earlier, according to China’s two main bond clearing houses.

許多央行持有在香港交易的“點心債”——這不需要得到北京方面的批准，但外資機構對中國境內債券的持有量也在上升。根據中國兩家主要的債券清算機構的數據，截止今年3月底，海外機構持有的銀行間債券規模達5790億元人民幣（合930億美元），同比增加44%。

The People’s Bank of China issued rules in 2013 allowing institutions that had already been approved to buy into domestic stock exchanges to apply for access to the interbank bond market, where more than 90 per cent of all Chinese domestic bonds are traded.

2013年，中國央行(PBoC)發佈了規則，允許已獲准在境內股市購買股票的機構申請進入銀行間債市，90%以上的中國境內債券交易發生在銀行間債市。

That created an opening for the several hundred institutions approved under the qualified foreign institutional investor (QFII) programme and a related scheme for offshore renminbi (RQFII) to diversify into bonds.

此舉爲幾百家已獲准通過合格境外機構投資者(QFII)和相關的人民幣境外合格機構投資者(RQFII)計劃進入中國股市的機構打開一個口子，讓它們也能進入境內債券市場。

The approvals come with quotas restricting the amount that can be invested, but Beijing does not disclose them. Before the latest approvals, 24 QFIIs, 86 RQFIIs, and an unknown number of foreign central banks and renminbi trade settlement banks had been approved.

相關批准規定了投資額度，但北京方面並不宣佈額度有多大。在最近一波批准之前，24家QFII機構、86家RQFII機構以及數量未知的外國央行和人民幣貿易結算銀行已獲得批准。

A separate programme allows foreign central banks that have signed bilateral currency swap agreements with the PBoC, as well as overseas banks involved in cross-border renminbi trade settlement and clearing, to apply for access to the interbank bond market.

還有一個並行的計劃允許與中國央行簽署了雙邊貨幣互換協議的外國央行——以及參與跨境人民幣貿易結算與清算的海外銀行——申請進入銀行間債市。

In recent days, the PBoC approved 32 new foreign investors under these two programmes, including HSBC, Morgan Stanley, Société Générale, BNP Paribas and ING Bank, according to the Shanghai Clearing House.

上海清算所(Shanghai Clearing House)表示，近幾天，中國央行在兩個計劃下批准了32家新的外國投資機構投資國內債市，其中包括匯豐、摩根士丹利、法國興業銀行(Société Générale)、巴黎銀行(BNP Paribas)和荷蘭商業銀行(ING Bank)。

In addition to hedging against capital outflows, the latest approvals may be an attempt to maintain the relevance of QFII following the launch of a rival programme that also allows foreign investors to buy mainland stocks.

除了對衝資本外流，最新批准舉措或許意在維持QFII計劃的相關性，因爲此前中國推出了一個與之競爭的允許外資投資境內股市的計劃。

The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, launched in November, created a new channel for foreign investors to buy large-cap stocks traded in Shanghai, up to a quota of Rmb300bn ($48bn), with no preapproval required.

去年11月中國推出的滬港通(Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect)爲境外投資機構購買上海股市的大型股提供了一條新渠道，最高額度達3000億元人民幣（合480億美元），且無需預先審批。

Even before the stock connect launched, demand for QFII appeared tepid. About half of the $150bn QFII quota and 60 per cent of the Rmb300bn RQFII quota remained unused by the end of April, according to China’s foreign exchange regulator.

即使在滬港通啓動之前，對QFII的需求似乎就不溫不火。中國外匯監管機構的數據顯示，截止今年4月底，1500億美元QFII額度的約一半以及3000億元人民幣RQFII額度的60%尚未使用。