中國綠色債券發行規模達到創紀錄高點

Chinese banks are using ethically labelled bonds to refinance existing loans, helping to propel the country to become the world’s biggest issuer of green paper.

中國各銀行正利用貼有道德標籤的債券爲現有貸款再融資，此舉將幫助推動中國成爲全球最大綠色債券發行國。

Green bond issuance is at a record high and China became the largest source of new paper in the third quarter of this year, taking it to the joint-largest source of issuance in the year to date, along with France.

中國的綠色債券發行規模達到創紀錄高點，今年第三季度，中國成爲全球最大綠色新債發行國，並讓中國與法國並列成爲今年迄今最大綠色債券發行國。

Financial institutions issued three-quarters of green bonds in China since the market first emerged in 2014, a Financial Times analysis of data from the credit rating agency Moody’s has found.

英國《金融時報》對信貸評級機構穆迪(Moody’s)的數據進行的分析發現，自2014年綠色債券市場出現以來，金融機構在中國發行的綠色債券佔四分之三。

When raising the cash, banks are reserving the right to use it to refinance existing lending rather than using it to finance new projects, some of the bonds’ documentation suggests. Many of the refinanced loans are not labelled as green.

一些債券的文件顯示，在募集資金時，銀行保留了利用綠色債券爲現有貸款再融資的權利，而不是利用它們爲新項目融資。很多得到再融資的貸款並沒有綠色標籤。

A report on the Chinese green bond market by international advisory body the Climate Bonds Initiative last year noted that “refinancing of [unlabelled] green loans is the main role of green bonds” in China.

國際顧問機構——氣候債券倡議組織(Climate Bonds Initiative)去年發佈的一份有關中國綠色債券的報告指出，在中國，“綠色債券的主要作用是爲（沒有標籤）的綠色貸款再融資”。

Chinese banks hold $920bn of loans that would qualify for green bond status, the report estimated.

該報告估計，中國各銀行持有9200億美元符合綠色債券資格的貸款。

Separately, the CBI noted in September there was “a paucity of investible projects” but said that issuers in emerging markets “can issue green bonds in/outside China to refinance their infrastructure”.

另外，今年9月，氣候債券倡議組織指出，“可投資項目匱乏”，但表示新興市場發行者“能夠在中國境內外發行綠色債券，爲他們的基礎設施再融資”。

Lily Dai, a senior research analyst at the CBI, said banks were using green bonds as a way of refinancing loans made to environmental projects under the China Banking Regulatory Commission’s green credit directive in 2012, which urged banks to promote green credit.

氣候債券倡議組織高級研究分析師戴偉惠(Lily Dai)表示，銀行正把綠色債券用於根據中國銀監會(CBRC) 2012年的綠色信貸指引發放給環境項目的貸款的再融資。該指引敦促銀行發展綠色信貸。

The CBRC is now encouraging banks to issue green bonds, she said; “the banks want to issue bonds because their tenor is longer” than the maturing loans they needed to refinance.

戴偉惠表示，中國銀監會現在鼓勵銀行發行綠色債券：“銀行希望發行這類債券是因爲它們的期限（比銀行需要再融資的到期貸款）更長”。

Yao Wang, director-general of Beijing’s International Institute of Green Finance, said: “Before 2015 we didn’t label the bonds but they were actually issued for green purposes. Last year we started labelling.”

北京中央財經大學綠色金融國際研究院(International Institute of Green Finance)院長王遙表示：“2015年以前，我們沒有給這些債券貼上標籤，但它們的發行確實用於環保用途。去年，我們開始貼標籤。”

The International Capital Markets Association’s green bond principles recommend that, when issuers intend to use the proceeds of the bond for refinancing, they should “provide an estimate of the share of financing versus refinancing” and “clarify which investments or project portfolios may be refinanced”.

國際資本市場協會(International Capital Market Association)的綠色債券發行原則規定，當發行人打算利用債券發行所得再融資時，它們應該“提供融資與再融資比例的估算”，並且“澄清可能爲哪些投資或項目組合提供再融資”。

However, most Chinese green bonds issued to date are not listed on international green bond exchanges, where issuers can publish documentation including setting out how they intend to use the proceeds, although more recently issuers have begun to do this.

然而，中國迄今發行的綠色債券大多沒有在國際綠色債券交易所上市——在國際綠色債券交易所，發行人可以發佈文件，包括說明他們打算如何使用發行所得——儘管他們最近已經開始這樣做了。

In October ICBC raised its inaugural green bond with a $1bn, dual-tranche deal which is listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange’s green platform. The bond’s paperwork says the proceeds will be used for “the financing and/or refinancing of eligible green assets”.

今年10月，中國工商銀行(ICBC)在盧森堡證券交易所的綠色債券平臺上發行了一筆10億美元的兩檔債券。該債券的文件稱，發行所得將用於“合格綠色資產的融資和/或再融資”。

Other bonds’ documentation cites projects which are already up and running as being among the destinations for the finance raised.

其他債券文件將已經投入運行的項目納入融資目的地之列。

Chinese banks are particularly well placed to issue green bonds because of their relatively high credit ratings in comparison with many corporates, Ms Wang said, predicting that Chinese bond issuers will increasingly invest the proceeds of their green finance-raising abroad.

王遙表示，由於與許多企業相比，中國各銀行的信用評級相對較高，因此它們特別適合發行綠色債券。她預計，中國債券發行人將越來越多地使用海外綠色債券發行所得進行投資。

Ms Wang said she was “sure” that the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the rapidly growing China-led supranational organisation, would issue green bonds in future. She said they could also be used to finance the Silk Road Fund, a state investment vehicle.

王遙表示，她“確信”，亞洲基礎設施投資銀行（Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank，簡稱：亞投行）將在未來發行綠色債券。她說，這些債券也可以用來爲政府投資工具絲路基金(Silk Road Fund)提供融資。亞投行是由中國主導的一個快速發展的超國家組織。

Banks in other parts of the world have also begun to use green bonds to refinance existing loans, albeit on a much smaller scale. This autumn, Barclays became the first bank to issue a green bond in the UK to fund domestic assets, pledging to use the proceeds to refinance a portfolio of residential mortgages.

世界其他地區的銀行也開始使用綠色債券對現有貸款進行再融資，儘管規模要小得多。今年秋季，巴克萊(Barclays)成爲首家在英國發行綠色債券爲國內資產提供融資的銀行，該行承諾將利用發行所得對一個住宅抵押貸款組合進行再融資。