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A unit of Guosen Securities, China’s eighth-largest investment bank said on Thursday it had not neared default on its offshore debt after uncertainty over payments raised questions over so-called “keepwell” deals, or promises by mainland groups to support the borrowing of their offshore units.
周四，中国第八大券商国信证券(Guosen Securities)的一个下属部门表示，其在离岸债券上并未接近违约，此前偿付不确定性使得所谓“维好”协议——内地母公司做出的支持其离岸分支机构债务的承诺——引发了质疑。
The bonds’ trustee, Bank of New York Mellon, said late on Thursday it had received a clarification notice from Guosen that sought to “correct statements set out in earlier communications”. The notice in effect amended an early note from BNY Mellon that warned bondholders of an “event of default”.
周四晚，该债券的受托方纽约梅隆银行(BNY Mellon)表示，已收到国信证券方面的一份澄清公告，寻求“对更早沟通时的声明做出更正”。该公告实际上修改了一份更早的纽约梅隆银行公告——警告债券持有人，即将发生一起“违约事件”。
While no payments had yet been missed, the technical phrase sparked worries over keepwell agreements, used by mainland groups to support the borrowings of their offshore entities in dollars as well as renminbi, before rule changes in 2014 allowed them to issue legal guarantees.
尽管迄今没有错过任何偿付，但这种技术性措辞使得维好协议引发了担忧。在2014年规则改变、允许它们作出法律担保以前，中国内地集团使用维好协议对其离岸实体的美元和人民币债务提供支持。
Guosen said on Thursday in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange, where the bond trades, that it was “confident that it will be able to fully comply with its payment obligations in respect of the Bonds”.
周四，国信证券在上述债券交易地点港交所(HKEx)发表声明称，其“确信自己将有能力完全履行与债券相关的偿付义务”。
The earlier notice from BNY Mellon had cast doubt on whether the securities company would meet a Rmb38m ($5.9m) coupon payment due on April 24 on its Rmb1.2bn in so-called “dim sum” bonds — renminbi debt sold outside the mainland.
纽约梅隆银行更早发布的公告，使国信证券能否支付4月24日到期的12亿元人民币“点心”债券的3800万元人民币（合590万美元）票息引发了疑问。点心债是在中国大陆境外发行的人民币债券。
Credit specialists in Hong Kong said earlier on Thursday that the first BNY Mellon notice appeared to be technical in nature, relating to approvals needed for Guosen’s mainland unit to transfer funds to its Hong Kong unit.
周四早些时候，香港的信贷专家表示，纽约梅隆银行的第一份公告似乎是技术性的，与国信证券的内地公司需要获得把资金转移到其香港分支机构的批准有关。
“Our base case is this technical issue will be solved. But going forward, capital control might be a risk investors should consider in assessing the keepwell structure,” said Manjesh Verma, head of credit sector specialists at Citigroup in Hong Kong. “It is an issue not only for the dim sum market, but for the broader China offshore bond markets given that there are a number of bonds in dollar and dim sum space which have this keepwell structure and this structure has not been tested yet.”
“我们的基本预测是，这一技术性问题将得到解决。但在下一阶段，资本管制或许是投资者在评估维好协议时应该考虑的一个风险，”花旗集团(Citigroup)驻香港的信贷部门专家主管曼杰什•维尔马(Manjesh Verma)说。“这不但是点心债市场的问题，也是整个中国离岸债券市场的问题，因为大量的美元债和点心债存在维好协议，而这种架构尚未经受过考验。”
In mid-afternoon trading in Hong Kong, the bond’s yield, which moves inversely to price, rose to 7.12 per cent from 6.4 per cent.
在香港交易日的下午中段，该债券的收益率（与价格变动方向相反）从6.4%上升至7.12%。
Chinese companies have used keepwells in offshore bond sales as a way to provide a degree of security to foreign investors. Until mid-2014, China’s foreign exchange regulator forbade onshore companies from issuing direct guarantees of offshore debt.
中国企业一直在离岸债券销售中使用维好协议，由此为境外投资者提供一定程度的安全保证。在2014年年中之前，中国外汇监管机构禁止境内企业为离岸债务提供直接担保。
Most Chinese offshore bonds are issued through tax-haven-domiciled SPVs, leaving investors with little recourse to onshore assets. BNY’s March 23 notice said that the event of default was caused by a violation of the keepwell deed, without providing details.
中国企业发行的大多数离岸债券是通过设在避税天堂的特殊目的公司(SPV)发行的，导致投资者对发行企业的境内资产几乎没有追索权。纽约梅隆银行在3月23日发布的公告称，这次违约事件是由于违反维好协议而引发的，但没有提供细节情况。
The dim sum bond market emerged around 2010 as China moved to encourage international use of its currency. With renminbi accumulating in Hong Kong and other offshore financial hubs, Chinese and foreign issuers took advantage of interest rates typically lower than those available in China’s onshore debt market. Last year, offshore renminbi bond issuance slumped to $17bn after hitting a record $33bn in 2014, according to Dealogic. Some $64bn in such bonds is currently outstanding.
点心债市场是在2010年左右中国着手鼓励国际社会使用人民币的背景下出现的。在人民币汇集到香港及其他离岸金融中心之际，中外发行人利用了通常低于中国境内债市的利率。根据Dealogic的数据，在2014年达到创纪录的330亿美元的发行规模之后，去年境外人民币债券的发行规模下滑至170亿美元。目前还未结清的此类债券还有大约640亿美元。
