Chinese companies’ near-record offshore borrowing in May was partially the result of Beijing’s efforts to support the weakening renminbi, according to bankers.

银行家表示，今年5月中国企业接近创纪录水平的离岸发债规模，在一定程度上是中国政府支撑走弱的人民币的结果。

Mainland groups issued $19.2bn of bonds in international markets — the third-highest month on record, according to Dealogic data — even as they spurned local markets in a dramatic switch from their behaviour since last August when China stunned global markets by devaluing the renminbi.

中国内地企业在国际市场发行了192亿美元的债券——Dealogic的数据显示，这是有记录以来第三高的月度水平——它们已经明显改变了去年8月以来的做法，不再热衷于在国内市场发行债券。去年8月，中国下调人民币汇率，让全球市场感到震惊。

Leading the charge have been state-backed groups including China Development Bank, China Huarong Asset Management and State Grid, which between them issued bonds worth $7.3bn in dollars and euros in May.

打头阵的是国有集团，包括中国国家开发银行(China Development Bank)、中国华融资产管理公司(China Huarong Asset Management)和国家电网(State Grid)。这些企业在今年5月总计发行了价值73亿美元的美元和欧元计价债券。

Borrowing overseas and remitting the proceeds back home helps to bolster the renminbi — reversing the debt market trend since last August whereby Chinese groups had been borrowing at home to pay down foreign debt in an attempt to reduce the rising debt burden produced by a weakening currency.

在海外发债并将资金汇回国内有助于支撑人民币，逆转自去年8月以来的债券市场趋势，即中国企业在国内借债以偿还外国债务，努力减轻人民币走低加剧的债务负担。

One banker in Hong Kong described the pressure this month from the authorities to borrow overseas rather than domestically as “a lot more than just a nudge”.

香港的一名银行家认为，当局这个月施加的、要求企业去海外而非在国内借债的压力，“绝不只是简单的示意”。

Foreign deals made up almost two-fifths of Chinese companies’ total bond issuance in May, up from less than a tenth on average since last August. Before the devaluation, international deals made up roughly a fifth.

海外发债占到今年5月中国企业债券发行总额的近五分之二，而去年8月以来的平均占比不到十分之一。在人民币贬值前，海外发债的占比大约为五分之一。

The shift in emphasis underlines the tensions between China’s desire for investment overseas and its need to control the use of its foreign exchange reserves.

这种转变突显出中国的矛盾，一方面，中国希望在海外投资，另一方面又不得不控制其外汇储备的使用。

The overseas branches of China’s biggest banks have also been active borrowers in the offshore markets as part of their efforts to help Chinese companies’ push overseas, as well as remitting funds to the mainland.

中国最大几家银行的海外分支也是离岸市场的积极发债者，它们借此帮助中资企业海外扩张，同时将资金汇回内地。

“For the majority of corporates who want to invest offshore, their source of funding must be coming from offshore,” said Zhiming Zhang, head of China research at HSBC. “The perception of any slowdown in ODI [overseas direct investment] looks bad [to China] but they don’t want to do that, at the expense of their reserves.”

汇丰(HSBC)中国研究部主管张之明表示：“对绝大多数希望投资海外的企业来说，它们的资金必须来自海外。看到海外直接投资有任何放缓（对中国来说）都很糟糕，但他们不希望牺牲外汇储备来进行海外投资。”

ICBC, Agricultural Bank of China and China Construction Bank raised $4.8bn between them for branches in New York, Singapore and, in CCB’s case, its international leasing business.

中国工商银行(ICBC)、中国农业银行(ABC)和中国建设银行(CCB)总计为其在纽约和新加坡的分支机构（建行则是为国际租赁业务）筹集了48亿美元资金。

China’s onshore bond markets have also been unsettled by a rise in bond yields after defaults by state-owned groups in April unnerved investors — potentially prompting a move overseas.

中国在岸债券市场也因债券收益率上升而出现波动——今年4月，中国国有企业的违约让投资者感到不安——这潜在推动了海外债券发行。

“More volatility onshore is certainly one reason why we are seeing more issuance offshore,” said Ashish Malhotra, global head of bond syndicate at Standard Chartered. “In June all issuance is likely to slow with the Brexit vote and the Fed meeting — a lot of issuers have wanted to get ahead of all that.”

渣打银行(Standard Chartered)债券辛迪加全球主管阿希什•马尔霍特拉(Ashish Malhotra)表示：“国内市场波动加剧当然是海外发行增加的一个原因。今年6月，由于英国将举行脱欧公投，而美联储(Fed)将举行议息会议，所有发行都可能放缓——许多发行方希望抢在这一切之前发行债券。”

May is typically a busy month for debt deals worldwide as companies race to beat a US deadline that prevents them from basing offerings on accounts that are more than 135 days old.

对世界各地的债券发行来说，5月通常是一个忙碌的月份，因为各公司竞相赶在一项美国规定的最后期限之前发行债券，该规定要求发行日距离发行债券所基于的财务报告的日期不得超过135天。