A state-owned bad loan bank has agreed to bail out China’s first domestic bond default, in a move that could reinforce the assumption that even risky credit enjoys an implicit government guarantee.
一家国有坏账银行已同意救助中国首笔国内债券违约，此举可能使人们更加相信一个假设：即便高风险的信贷也享受隐性政府担保。
Shanghai Chaori Solar, which in March failed to meet an interest payment on Rmb1bn worth of bonds, announced a restructuring plan yesterday under which some creditors could face haircuts of up to 80 per cent.

昨日，上海超日太阳能(Shanghai Chaori Solar)公布了一项重组方案，根据该方案，部分债权人可能面临最高80%的减记。今年3月，超日太阳能未能如期兑付10亿元人民币债券的利息。
But holders of Chaori’s exchange-traded bonds may be repaid in full thanks to a guarantee worth Rmb880m ($143m) issued by Great Wall Asset Management, one of the four bad loan banks that the government established in the late 1990s to buy toxic assets from the big four state-owned banks.
但是，由于长城资产管理公司(Great Wall Asset Management)出具了一份价值8.80亿元人民币（合1.43亿美元）的保函，超日的交易所交易债券的持有人可能获得全额兑付。长城资产管理公司是中国政府于20世纪90年代末设立的四家坏账银行之一，其使命是向四大国有银行购买有毒资产。
“There’s no information about what Great Wall is getting in return for their guarantee,” said Wang Ming, director at Yaozhi Asset Management in Shanghai. “It certainly looks like a government-directed move to uphold social stability.”
“目前不清楚长城资产管理公司本身会从出具保函得到什么，”上海耀之资产管理(Yaozhi Asset Management)合伙人王明说。“这看起来肯定像是政府主导的保持社会稳定的做法。”
Analysts in March hailed Chaori’s default as a landmark for market discipline in China’s corporate bond market, where investors long assumed the government would never permit a default.
今年3月，许多分析师把超日违约称颂为中国公司债市场严守市场纪律的一块里程碑。在该市场，投资者长期假定政府绝不会允许发生违约。
A precedent-setting default would force investors to evaluate borrowers more carefully, resulting in rational risk pricing and, ultimately, improved capital allocation, they said at the time.
分析师们当时表示，一场确立先例的违约将迫使投资者更仔细地评估借款人，导致理性的风险定价，最终改善资本配置。
But the apparent bailout may rekindle bond investors’ appetite for riskier credit amid a revival of what local investors call the “rigid repayment” expectations for publicly issued bonds in China.
但是，明显的救助可能重燃债券投资者对于较高风险信贷的需求。国内投资者对中国公开发行债券的“刚性兑付”预期已被再度激活。
The rescue also comes as rating agencies warn that defaults are likely to rise as the economy slows and borrowers grapple with the overhang from a huge increase in corporate and government debt since the global financial crisis.
此次救助方案出台之际，评级机构警告称，随着经济增长放缓，随着借款人艰难应对自全球金融危机以来大幅增加的公司与政府债务，违约很可能增多。
Great Wall provided its guarantee jointly with another entity, Shanghai Eternal Sunshine Investment Management Centre. The company has no website, and an internet search turns up no references to the centre before yesterday. That suggests it may be a special-purpose vehicle used by the local government to share the cost of the bailout with Great Wall, according to Mr Wang. Chaori narrowly avoided a previous bond default in January 2013 after a Shanghai district government persuaded banks to defer claims for overdue loans.
长城资产管理公司与另一家实体上海久阳投资管理中心(Shanghai Eternal Sunshine Investment Management Centre)共同出具了上述保函。上海久阳投资管理中心并无网站，在互联网上也搜不到昨日之前有关该中心的任何信息。王明称，这似乎表明，它可能是当地政府用来与长城资产管理公司分担救助成本的一件特殊目的工具。2013年1月，上海一个区政府说服银行延缓要求收回拖欠的贷款，超日得以勉强逃过债券违约。
“Great Wall and Eternal Sunshine only guaranteed the corporate bond, not the other debt,” said Sun Binbin, fixed-income analyst at China Merchants Securities. “This is a difference between public versus privately issued debt. ‘Rigid repayment’ has always existed for public debt. That’s going to continue for some time.”
“长城资产管理和久阳投资仅担保公司债券，而不包括其他债务，”招商证券(China Merchants Securities)固定收益分析师孙彬彬说。“公共债务和私人部门发行的债务有很大的不同。公共债务历来是‘刚性兑付’的。这种状况将持续一段时间。”
Great Wall did not respond to requests for comment.
长城资产没有回复记者的置评请求。
More than 90 per cent of Chinese companies trade in the institutional market, but Chaori’s bond traded on the Shenzhen stock exchange, which is dominated by retail investors. That probably added to political pressure to protect Chaori’s bondholders from losses. The guarantee is contingent on bondholders approving the overall restructuring plan at a meeting scheduled for October 23.
超过90%的中国公司债在机构市场进行交易，但超日债在以散户投资者为主的深圳证交所进行交易。这很可能增加了保护超日债券持有人不受损失的政治压力。相关方面定于10月23日召开一次会议，如果超日债券持有人在会上批准了全面重组方案，担保方可生效。
The move by Great Wall raises questions for investors in bad banks, which began as tools of government financial policy but have since stated their intention to operate as profit-driven entities.
长城资产管理的救助行动，导致投资者对坏账银行产生疑问。坏账银行起初充当了政府金融政策的工具，但后来声明了作为利润驱动实体开展经营的意愿。