中国首次在伦敦发行30亿元人民币国债

China issued its first sale of offshore government debt in London’s fledgling renminbi market yesterday, borrowing Rmb3bn ($457m) in a deal that attracted hefty demand.

中国昨日在伦敦起步不久的人民币市场发行了首笔离岸政府债务，借入30亿元人民币（合4.57亿美元），这笔交易吸引了巨大需求。

The finance ministry bond drew orders of Rmb8.5bn from investors evenly split between Asia and Europe, Africa and the Middle East, according to HSBC, one of the banks hired to arrange the sale.

据受雇安排此次发债的银行之一汇丰(HSBC)介绍，中国财政部债券吸引了85亿元人民币的认购，投资者差不多一半来自亚洲，另一半来自欧洲、非洲和中东地区。

In China, the government’s debut London bond was viewed as a way to measure overseas demand for Chinese assets in the wake of a currency devaluation that shocked markets last August and a stock market rout in January that led to the biggest monthly drop in shares for seven years.

在中国，政府在伦敦首次发行债券被视为衡量海外对中国资产需求的一种方式，此前去年8月人民币汇率突然下调震动全球市场，而今年1月的股市暴跌带来股市七年来最大单月跌幅。

Even the country’s bond market, which has enjoyed a near-two-year rally, is the subject of concern after a spate of defaults by state-owned enterprises that has prompted a rise in bond yields.

就连保持涨势近两年的中国债券市场，近来也成为担心对象，原因是国有企业的一波违约导致债券收益率上升。

The bond maturing in 2019 was sold with a fixed coupon of 3.28 per cent — about 5 basis points above the yield at which an existing 2019 offshore Chinese bond trades — meaning investors were not demanding a large premium to buy the new debt.

在伦敦发行的中国主权债券将在2019年到期，票面利率固定，为3.28%（比2019年到期的一只现有中国离岸债券的收益率高出约5个基点），这意味着购买新债的投资者并未要求大的溢价。

The small size of the deal meant that it was of limited interest to mainstream international bondholders, according to an investor at one of Europe’s largest fund houses.

欧洲最大基金公司之一的一名投资人士表示，这笔交易的较小规模意味着国际主流债券持有人对它兴趣有限。

China’s offshore bond market emerged around 2010 as Beijing encouraged greater international use of its currency in financial hubs.

中国的离岸债券市场在2010年前后诞生，当时北京方面开始推动人民币国际化，鼓励各金融中心扩大使用人民币。

China has sought to attract international investors, resulting in growing competition between London, Frankfurt, Paris and Luxembourg to become the western hub for offshore renminbi trades.

中国一直寻求吸引国际投资者，这引发伦敦、法兰克福、巴黎和卢森堡之间展开日益激烈的竞争，为的是成为离岸人民币交易的西方枢纽。

The sale in London marks the first offshore issuance of sovereign paper by China.

此次在伦敦发债标志着中国首次在香港以外的离岸市场发行人民币主权债券。

George Osborne, UK chancellor, said China’s choice of London “reinforces the UK’s strong economic and financial relationship with China”.

英国财政大臣乔治•奥斯本(George Osborne)表示，中国选择伦敦“加强了英中之间强大的经贸和金融关系”。

Last year China’s central bank made its debut on London markets with a sale of one-year paper that attracted Rmb30bn of orders and was expected to pave the way for further sales by providing a benchmark against which future deals could be priced.

去年，中国央行在伦敦市场首次发行央行票据，当时其发售的一年期票据吸引了300亿元人民币的认购，同时人们预计那次发行将为未来交易提供定价基准，从而为未来的发债铺平道路。

Expansion of offshore Chinese bonds has been called into question as the country moves to open up its far larger onshore debt market.

离岸中国债券的扩张已受到质疑，因为中国已采取措施开放其规模大得多的在岸债市。