Chinese policy makers have a taste for the grandiose. Their most eye-catching plan of late has been the “one belt one road” directive. It aims to build infrastructure links from China to Europe and the rest of Asia, cementing ties with central Asian and Middle Eastern neighbours en route.
中国政策制定者对宏大情有独钟。近来他们最引人注目的计划是“一带一路”。该计划着眼于建设连通中国、欧洲和亚洲其余地方的基础设施，巩固中国与沿线的中亚和中东国家的纽带。
Yesterday’s news that state-owned China Railway Construction Corp has signed $5.5bn of contracts in Nigeria and Zimbabwe — following the signing of an even larger one in Nigeria late last year — shows how far this “new silk road” extends.
昨日，中国铁路建设总公司(China Railway Construction Corp)在尼日利亚和津巴布韦签下55亿美元大单的消息，显示出这条“新丝绸之路”延伸得多远。该公司去年晚些时候还在尼日利亚签署了一笔更大的合约。

Last year, China’s government kicked off the plan by pledging $40bn to an infrastructure fund. This month it announced a capital injection of more than $60bn into two policy banks to beef up lending capacity. The sums are likely to grow. This month China promised $45bn infrastructure investment to Pakistan. The appetite is there: Asia alone needs to add $11tn in urban infrastructure by 2030, HSBC reckons. Countries such as Thailand and Indonesia have a shortfall of domestic capital. The former is already working with China on rail plans.
去年，中国政府承诺为一家基础设施基金提供400亿美元，作为“一带一路”的启动资金。本月，中国政府宣布向两家政策银行注资逾600亿美元，以提高它们的放贷能力。这个数字可能还会继续增加。本月，中国承诺对巴基斯坦进行450亿美元的基础设施投资。资金需求摆在那儿：汇丰(HSBC)估计，仅亚洲到2030年就需要新增11万亿美元的城市基础设施。泰国和印尼这样的国家国内资本存在缺口。前者已开始与中国合作实施铁路计划。
The largesse will not just flow abroad. Nearly $250bn will be spent in China’s provinces, HSBC says, with transport a key focus. The government has targeted $130bn for railway investment this year.
慷慨的投资将不仅流向海外。汇丰表示，近2500亿美元将投入中国各省，交通是投资重点。中国政府今年铁路投资的目标是1300亿美元。
Naturally, then, infrastructure companies have been outperforming even as the Chinese market as a whole surges. The Hong Kong-listed shares of China CNR and CSR Corp, state-owned rolling stock makers whose merger was approved last month, have each risen by one half this year. They trade at chunky price-earnings multiples in the mid-20s, to go with mid-teens sales growth. The mainland A share listings have done even better, more than quintupling in the same period. They now trade at high premiums to the Hong Kong listings, having previously traded at a discount.
那么，基础设施企业在中国股市整体飙涨的情况下依然跑赢大盘就是顺理成章的了。上月宣布合并的国有列车制造商中国北车(CNR)和中国南车(CSR)的H股今年以来均上涨一半。两支股票的市盈率都较高，为20多倍，相比之下2014年营收分别同比增长7%和20%。两家公司的A股表现更佳，今年以来股价已上涨逾两倍，现在相对H股有很高的溢价（之前存在折让）。
Not all of the sector is so dear. China Communications Construction, China Railway Construction and China Railway Group Hong Kong shares all trade at low to mid-teens multiples for double-digit growth. The shares have risen even more strongly than the railcar makers. One might wonder how long this train can keep rolling. At the same time, the combined revenues of all five is just $280bn. Given the size of their potential markets, the share may not come off the rails just yet.
这一板块的股票也并非全都如此昂贵。中国交通建设(China Communications Construction)、中国铁建(China Railway Construction)和中国中铁(China Railway Group)的H股市盈率都为十几倍，增长率则为两位数。这些股票涨幅甚至超过了中国南车和中国北车。有人可能会怀疑这辆火车还能轰隆前行多久。与此同时，上述五家公司的营收之和仅2800亿美元。考虑到潜在市场的规模，它们的股票涨势应该暂时还不会脱轨。