包頭公務員向地方政府放貸

Chinese civil servants in a heavily indebted industrial city have found a unique investment opportunity — by lending money to their own local government employer for “guaranteed” annualised returns of as much as 12 per cent.

中國公務員在一個負債累累的工業(yè)城市找到了一個獨特的投資機會：向自己的地方政府雇主放貸，獲得高達12%的“保證”年化回報率。

Since 2015 an online lending platform in Baotou, Inner Mongolia has raised about Rmb1.2bn ($187m) for government projects in the city of 2.9m people. About half of the platform’s clients are government officials, according to people familiar with the financing scheme.

自2015年起，內(nèi)蒙古包頭的一個網(wǎng)上貸款平臺為這座290萬人口城市的政府項目籌集了約12億元人民幣(合1.87億美元)的資金。據(jù)熟悉這一融資機制的人士介紹，該平臺大約一半客戶是政府官員。

Privately owned NMG Dai, the Chinese abbreviation for Inner Mongolia Lending, raises funds for various government projects. The fund’s main borrower is one of Baotou’s six districts, Qingshan, which has used the cash for environment-related projects such as tree-planting and solar power generation.

私有的內(nèi)蒙貸(NMG Dai，中文名稱為“內(nèi)蒙古貸款”的縮寫)為各種政府項目融資。該基金的主要借款人是包頭六個區(qū)之一的青山區(qū)，該區(qū)將這些資金用于植樹和太陽能發(fā)電等環(huán)境相關項目。

Baotou’s finances were thrust into the national spotlight last year when a central government delegation ordered the city to halt work on a new Rmb30.5bn subway because of concerns about the city’s high debt levels.

去年，包頭的財政狀況引起全國關注，當時中央政府出于對當?shù)馗哓搨降膿鷳n，下令該市停建一條耗資305億元人民幣的地鐵線。

Local government finances and online lending platforms have been at the centre of a “regulatory windstorm” focused on cutting financial risks across the country.

地方政府財政和網(wǎng)上貸款平臺一直處于旨在降低全國財務風險的一場“監(jiān)管風暴”的核心。

Earlier this month, Inner Mongolia’s provincial government confirmed the suspension of the Baotou metro project, as well as three other subway projects in the provincial capital.

本月早些時候，內(nèi)蒙古的省級政府證實了包頭地鐵項目以及省會的另外三個地鐵項目被叫停。

According to NMG Dai’s marketing materials, repayments are guaranteed by the Qingshan district government, which has also given the fund free office space in a small building that also houses the district’s investment arm.

根據(jù)內(nèi)蒙貸的營銷資料，還款由青山區(qū)政府擔保，該區(qū)還為這只基金提供免費辦公空間，使其與該區(qū)的投資部門同處一棟小樓。

People familiar with Qingshan’s financing activities said the purported guarantee had convinced many Baotou civil servants that the platform — which typically promises returns of 7-12 per cent for short-term loans of a year or less — was a safe place to invest their money. The people asked not to be named because they were not authorised to speak about local government borrowing practices.

熟悉青山區(qū)融資活動的人士表示，所謂的擔保說服很多包頭公務員相信，該平臺(一般對一年或以下的短期貸款承諾7%至12%的回報率)是一個安全的投資地點。相關人員要求匿名，因為他們沒有獲準談論地方政府的借款行為。

The Baotou municipal government said NMG Dai was a “legal finance platform regulated by Qingshan district”. Qingshan and NMG Dai did not respond to requests for comment.

包頭市政府表示，內(nèi)蒙貸是“由青山區(qū)監(jiān)管的一個合法金融平臺”。青山區(qū)政府和內(nèi)蒙貸均沒有回應記者的置評請求。

Provincial government auditors and a Chinese credit rating agency have said Baotou’s official debt level, at Rmb82bn, was “relatively large”. According to Dagong Global, the rating agency, Baotou had an operating surplus of Rmb2bn in 2016.

省級政府審計師和中國一家信用評級機構表示，包頭820億元人民幣的官方債務水平“相對較高”。評級機構大公國際(Dagong Global)的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，2016年包頭有20億元人民幣的營運盈余。

NMG Dai is one of a handful of self-described “P2G”, or peer-to-government funds, that have emerged in China over recent years to help cash-strapped local governments raise money.

內(nèi)蒙貸是近年中國涌現(xiàn)出來的一些自稱“P2G”(即個人對政府)的基金之一，意在幫助資金緊缺的地方政府籌集資金。

In its most recent budget report, Baotou revised its 2017 revenues down 49 per cent, in part because of previously “fake” additions. Earlier this month, Inner Mongolia officials admitted that provincial revenues and industrial output had been inflated 26 and 40 per cent respectively.

在最近的預算報告中，包頭將2017年的財政收入下調(diào)了49%，部分原因在于之前存在虛高。本月早些時候，內(nèi)蒙古官員承認，內(nèi)蒙古財政收入和工業(yè)增加值分別存在26%和40%的水分。