希臘發行年以來首批國債

Greece has returned to global capital markets for the first time since the eurozone crisis erupted in 2010, attracting big demand for its government bonds in a sign of growing confidence in the region’s weakest economies.

希臘自2010年歐元區危機爆發以來首次重返全球資本市場，該國政府發行的債券吸引了大量需求，這表明人們對歐元區幾個最弱經濟體的信心正在增強。

Investors rushed to place 11bn of orders for the five-year bonds yesterday, just four years after its debts triggered an international crisis that threatened to destroy the euro.

昨天，投資者競相認購110億歐元的五年期國債。而就在四年前，希臘債務還曾引發一場威脅到歐元生存的國際危機。

Following a painful period of austerity and the biggest debt restructuring in history, Greece achieved a primary surplus in 2013. But with high levels of unemployment, it remains the weakest link in the 15-year old currency union.

在經歷了一段痛苦的財政緊縮時期以及史上最大規模的債務重組之後，2013年希臘實現了基本盈餘。不過，失業率居高不下的希臘仍是有15年曆史的貨幣聯盟中最薄弱的一環。

As if to underline the fragility, the country’s unions embarked on a nationwide anti-austerity strike yesterday, forcing schools to close and bringing parts of the public transport network to a standstill. News of the debt sale was barely reported in Athens due to television blackouts.

昨天，彷彿是爲了凸顯出希臘的這種脆弱性，該國工會組織了一場反緊縮政策的全國大罷工，導致學校停課，公共運輸網部分癱瘓。由於電視停播，有關希臘國債銷售的新聞在雅典幾乎沒有報道。

The 11bn order book is about four times higher than the amount Greece is expected to raise. Bankers were predicting a yield of between 5 per cent and 5.25 per cent, lower than some analysts had forecast.

110億歐元的國債銷售規模差不多是希臘募資預期的4倍。銀行家們預計其收益率將在5%到5.25%之間，低於部分分析人士之前的預測。

Antonis Samaras, Greece’s prime minister, is keen to show that Greece is able to borrow money independently of its troika of international lenders – the European Central Bank, the IMF and the European Commission. The bond will be governed by UK law in an attempt to attract investors who fear that they could be wiped out by another debt restructuring.

希臘總理安東尼斯•薩馬拉斯(Antonis Samaras)急於表明，希臘有能力獨立借款，不靠三大國際貸款方，即歐洲央行(ECB)、國際貨幣基金組織(IMF)和歐盟委員會(European Commission)。爲吸引那些擔心被又一場債務重組搞得血本無歸的投資者，希臘最新國債將適用英國法律。

One Athens banker said today would be a moment for “rejoicing”, especially if the yield was below 5 per cent. He said Greek banks were excluded from the five-year issue because it “was important to tap foreign investors to send the message Greece is back”.

雅典一位銀行家表示，今天將是“歡樂的”時刻，尤其是如果收益率低於5%。他表示，希臘各銀行被排除在五年期國債發行對象範圍外，是因爲“有必要向外國投資者傳遞出希臘已恢復正常的信號”。

Greece is taking advantage of falling borrowing costs across Europe amid growing speculation that the ECB is set to embark on a round of quantitative easing.

隨着越來越多人猜測歐洲央行將啓動一輪量化寬鬆，整個歐洲的借貸成本正在不斷下降，希臘正利用這一點。

Greece’s benchmark borrowing costs on the 10-year bond hit more than 30 per cent after the debt restructure in 2012, but have fallen below 6 per cent.

2012年債務重組後，希臘的基準借貸成本——10年期債券收益率曾達到30%以上，但這一數字已跌至6%以下。

However, Alan Wilde, head of fixed income at Baring Asset Management, said: “I still can’t see why anyone would want to own Greek debt. Greece comes into the category where it renegotiated but did not repay the debt that it owed.”

不過，霸菱資產管理公司(Baring Asset Management)固定收益產品主管艾倫•王爾德(Alan Wilde)表示：“我還沒發現人們想要持有希臘債券的任何理由。希臘屬於那種會重新談判而不會償付所欠債務的國家。”