China will allow local governments to issue bonds directly for the first time in 17 years as Beijing acts to prevent potential defaults by provincial and city-level administrations that could wreak havoc in the country’s financial sector.

　　中国将允许地方政府17年来首次自行发债，此举旨在防止省市级地方政府违约，对本国金融部门造成严重破坏。

　　A pilot project announced on Thursday by China’s finance ministry will permit Zhejiang province, Guangdong province and the cities of Shanghai and Shenzhen to issue three and five-year bonds on their own. The project is expected to be extended to other local governments around the country, many of which borrowed heavily to fund infrastructure projects as part of China’s enormous 2008 economic stimulus plan.

　　中国财政部周四宣布，将允许浙江、广东、上海和深圳作为试点，自行发行3年期和5年期债券。预计该项目将扩大至全国其它地方政府。作为中国2008年大规模刺激计划的一部分，许多地方政府大量举债建设基础设施。  

　　Local governments in China have not been allowed to sell their own bonds or run budget deficits since 1994, when Beijing introduced a ban because of concerns over the huge debts they were amassing. But most have managed to skirt these restrictions by setting up special purpose companies to arrange bank loans and other financing to pay for public works and investments.

　　1994年，出于对地方政府累积的巨额债务的担忧，中国政府出台了禁止地方政府发行债券的禁令，自那以后，中国一直不允许地方政府自行发债或运行预算赤字。但大多数地方政府规避了这些限制，它们通过设立特殊目的公司来安排银行贷款和其它融资，以出资建设公共工程并进行投资。

　　This practice grew exponentially after Beijing launched its stimulus plan to deal with the 2008 financial crisis. According to some estimates local government debt more than tripled, from about Rmb4,000bn ($626bn) in 2007 to as much as Rmb14,000bn – about 35 percent of 2010 gross domestic product – by the end of last year.

　　在中国政府出台刺激方案以对付2008年金融危机之后，上述操作的规模出现指数级增长。据某些人估计，中国地方政府债务从2007年的约4万亿元人民币（合6260亿美元）增长3倍多，达到去年年底的14万亿元人民币，占2010年国内生产总值(GDP)的35%左右。

　　Policymakers fear much of this borrowing has been spent on wasteful projects and that local governments will struggle to repay many of these loans. Allowing provincial authorities to issue their own bonds should help them to meet cash shortfalls and start the process of cleaning up the murky and largely unregulated special purpose investment vehicles.

　　中国政策制定者们担心，大部分贷款投向了无用的项目，而地方政府将很难偿还其中的许多贷款。允许省级政府自行发债，应当有助于它们解决资金短缺问题，并开始清理不透明、大多不受监管的特殊目的投资工具。

　　The finance ministry did not say how much each local government could raise but the amount will be relatively small at first, with the four authorities expected to be given a combined quota of Rmb20bn-Rmb30bn before the end of the year.

　　中国财政部没有透露地方政府的发债额度，但一开始额度将相对较小，预计四家地方政府将在年底前获得总计200亿-300亿元人民币的额度。

　　The bonds will be open to Chinese investors as well as a limited number of approved foreign institutions. At present, China’s finance ministry sells up to Rmb200bn a year in bonds on behalf of local governments.

　　这些债券将向中国投资者和少数经过批准的外国机构开放。目前，中国财政部代表地方政府一年至多销售2000亿元人民币的债券。

　　“Properly handled, the local debt problem does not have to trigger a banking crisis or a macroeconomic slowdown,” said Stephen Green, Standard Chartered’s head of research for Greater China, in a report this year. “The central government’s balance sheet and tax collection capabilities combined with strong nominal growth should mean this challenge can be met.” 

　　渣打银行(Standard Chartered)大中华区研究部主管王志浩(Stephen Green)今年在一份报告中表示：“如果处置得当，地方债务问题不会引发银行业危机或宏观经济增长放缓。中央政府的资产负债表和收税能力，加上强劲的名义经济增长，应该意味着可以应对这一挑战。”

　　But if the economy slows more than expected and many more local projects run into trouble, the country’s banking sector could be badly affected. Much of the local government investment is believed to have gone into the country’s overheated real estate sector and many of the loans are collateralised by land at its current high valuations, so a severe downturn in that market would have a compounding effect on these debts.

　　但如果经济放缓超出预期，更多的地方项目陷入困境，中国银行业可能受到严重影响。地方政府的投资据信有很大一部分投入了过热的中国房地产行业，而许多贷款是以当前高估值的土地为担保的，因此房地产市场大幅下滑将对这些债务产生多重打击。

　　Furthermore, many local administrations rely on land sales as a key source of revenue. A stall in the commercial housing market would therefore put a further strain on their finances.

　　此外，许多地方政府的主要收入来源依赖土地出售，商品房市场停滞将令它们的财政进一步受压。

　　Liu Mingkang, chairman of China’s banking regulator, acknowledged on Wednesday there were serious concerns about the local government debt burden. “We cannot deny that local government financing platforms have not been managed well. A lack of monitoring mechanisms and other problems have created various risks,” he said.

　　中国银监会主席刘明康周三承认，各方严重担忧地方政府债务负担。他表示：“不可否认，由于地方政府融资平台等存在管理不规范不审慎、监督机制缺失等问题，也埋下了一些风险隐患。”

　　But, he added, the problem was still “manageable” thanks to continued rapid growth in government revenue and the overall economy.

　　不过，他补充称，由于政府收入和整体经济持续快速增长，问题仍然“可控”。