China will allow local governments to issue bonds directly for the first time in 17 years as Beijing acts to prevent potential defaults by provincial and city-level administrations that could wreak havoc in the country’s financial sector.

　　中國將允許地方政府17年來首次自行發(fā)債，此舉旨在防止省市級地方政府違約，對本國金融部門造成嚴重破壞。

　　A pilot project announced on Thursday by China’s finance ministry will permit Zhejiang province, Guangdong province and the cities of Shanghai and Shenzhen to issue three and five-year bonds on their own. The project is expected to be extended to other local governments around the country, many of which borrowed heavily to fund infrastructure projects as part of China’s enormous 2008 economic stimulus plan.

　　中國財政部周四宣布，將允許浙江、廣東、上海和深圳作為試點，自行發(fā)行3年期和5年期債券。預計該項目將擴大至全國其它地方政府。作為中國2008年大規(guī)模刺激計劃的一部分，許多地方政府大量舉債建設基礎設施。  

　　Local governments in China have not been allowed to sell their own bonds or run budget deficits since 1994, when Beijing introduced a ban because of concerns over the huge debts they were amassing. But most have managed to skirt these restrictions by setting up special purpose companies to arrange bank loans and other financing to pay for public works and investments.

　　1994年，出于對地方政府累積的巨額債務的擔憂，中國政府出臺了禁止地方政府發(fā)行債券的禁令，自那以后，中國一直不允許地方政府自行發(fā)債或運行預算赤字。但大多數(shù)地方政府規(guī)避了這些限制，它們通過設立特殊目的公司來安排銀行貸款和其它融資，以出資建設公共工程并進行投資。

　　This practice grew exponentially after Beijing launched its stimulus plan to deal with the 2008 financial crisis. According to some estimates local government debt more than tripled, from about Rmb4,000bn ($626bn) in 2007 to as much as Rmb14,000bn – about 35 percent of 2010 gross domestic product – by the end of last year.

　　在中國政府出臺刺激方案以對付2008年金融危機之后，上述操作的規(guī)模出現(xiàn)指數(shù)級增長。據某些人估計，中國地方政府債務從2007年的約4萬億元人民幣（合6260億美元）增長3倍多，達到去年年底的14萬億元人民幣，占2010年國內生產總值(GDP)的35%左右。

　　Policymakers fear much of this borrowing has been spent on wasteful projects and that local governments will struggle to repay many of these loans. Allowing provincial authorities to issue their own bonds should help them to meet cash shortfalls and start the process of cleaning up the murky and largely unregulated special purpose investment vehicles.

　　中國政策制定者們擔心，大部分貸款投向了無用的項目，而地方政府將很難償還其中的許多貸款。允許省級政府自行發(fā)債，應當有助于它們解決資金短缺問題，并開始清理不透明、大多不受監(jiān)管的特殊目的投資工具。

　　The finance ministry did not say how much each local government could raise but the amount will be relatively small at first, with the four authorities expected to be given a combined quota of Rmb20bn-Rmb30bn before the end of the year.

　　中國財政部沒有透露地方政府的發(fā)債額度，但一開始額度將相對較小，預計四家地方政府將在年底前獲得總計200億-300億元人民幣的額度。

　　The bonds will be open to Chinese investors as well as a limited number of approved foreign institutions. At present, China’s finance ministry sells up to Rmb200bn a year in bonds on behalf of local governments.

　　這些債券將向中國投資者和少數(shù)經過批準的外國機構開放。目前，中國財政部代表地方政府一年至多銷售2000億元人民幣的債券。

　　“Properly handled, the local debt problem does not have to trigger a banking crisis or a macroeconomic slowdown,” said Stephen Green, Standard Chartered’s head of research for Greater China, in a report this year. “The central government’s balance sheet and tax collection capabilities combined with strong nominal growth should mean this challenge can be met.” 

　　渣打銀行(Standard Chartered)大中華區(qū)研究部主管王志浩(Stephen Green)今年在一份報告中表示：“如果處置得當，地方債務問題不會引發(fā)銀行業(yè)危機或宏觀經濟增長放緩。中央政府的資產負債表和收稅能力，加上強勁的名義經濟增長，應該意味著可以應對這一挑戰(zhàn)。”

　　But if the economy slows more than expected and many more local projects run into trouble, the country’s banking sector could be badly affected. Much of the local government investment is believed to have gone into the country’s overheated real estate sector and many of the loans are collateralised by land at its current high valuations, so a severe downturn in that market would have a compounding effect on these debts.

　　但如果經濟放緩超出預期，更多的地方項目陷入困境，中國銀行業(yè)可能受到嚴重影響。地方政府的投資據信有很大一部分投入了過熱的中國房地產行業(yè)，而許多貸款是以當前高估值的土地為擔保的，因此房地產市場大幅下滑將對這些債務產生多重打擊。

　　Furthermore, many local administrations rely on land sales as a key source of revenue. A stall in the commercial housing market would therefore put a further strain on their finances.

　　此外，許多地方政府的主要收入來源依賴土地出售，商品房市場停滯將令它們的財政進一步受壓。

　　Liu Mingkang, chairman of China’s banking regulator, acknowledged on Wednesday there were serious concerns about the local government debt burden. “We cannot deny that local government financing platforms have not been managed well. A lack of monitoring mechanisms and other problems have created various risks,” he said.

　　中國銀監(jiān)會主席劉明康周三承認，各方嚴重擔憂地方政府債務負擔。他表示：“不可否認，由于地方政府融資平臺等存在管理不規(guī)范不審慎、監(jiān)督機制缺失等問題，也埋下了一些風險隱患。”

　　But, he added, the problem was still “manageable” thanks to continued rapid growth in government revenue and the overall economy.

　　不過，他補充稱，由于政府收入和整體經濟持續(xù)快速增長，問題仍然“可控”。