中国加强资本控制措施 阻止资本外逃

The Chinese government intensified its efforts to stem capital flight from the world’s second-largest economy on Thursday, as it simultaneously moved to slow renminbi outflows and restrict gold imports.

中国政府在周四加紧阻止资本外逃，同时采取行动减缓人民币流出和限制黄金进口。

Curbs on international renminbi payments and gold imports are the latest in a string of capital control measures intended to relieve downward pressure on the currency and protect dwindling foreign exchange reserves.

为减轻人民币下行压力，保护日益减少的外汇储备，中国政府出台了一系列资本控制措施，最新的举措包括遏制人民币国际支付和限制黄金进口。

Days earlier, China’s cabinet circulated draft rules restricting large foreign acquisitions, while its foreign exchange regulator began to vet outward remittances as low as $5m, compared with a previous threshold of $50m.

几天前，中国国务院通报限制大规模海外收购的草案，外汇监管机构已开始审查低至500万美元的外汇汇款，此前门槛为5000万美元。

The People’s Bank of China will restrict net renminbi transfers by China-domiciled companies to 30 per cent of shareholder’s equity, according to a document seen by the Financial Times. Previously, there was no limit on the value of such transfers, which were encouraged by Beijing as part of its larger effort to internationalise the renminbi.

据英国《金融时报》看到的一份文件，中国央行(PBoC)将内地企业人民币转移净额限制在股东权益的30%。此前这类转移并无额度限制，作为人民币全球化更大努力的一部分，还受到中国政府的鼓励。

Cross-border renminbi payments out of the country hit a record high of Rmb1.7tn ($246.7bn) in the third quarter against only Rmb970bn in inflows, according to central bank data. Authorities previously took a more permissive approach towards renminbi outflows because the accumulation of the currency offshore allows its use for trade and investment outside China’s borders.

根据中国央行数据，第三季度人民币净流出达到创纪录的1.7万亿元人民币（2467亿美元），而流入仅9700亿元人民币。相关部门此前对人民币流出态度较宽松，因为离岸人民币的积累可用于境外贸易和投资。

In a parallel measure, bankers and traders told the Financial Times that some gold importers have had difficulty obtaining approval to bring in gold as the weakening renminbi raises Chinese investors’ interest in the metal.

银行从业人员和交易商向英国《金融时报》表示，一些黄金进口商已很难获准引进黄金，而人民币日益疲软提高了中国投资者对黄金的兴趣。

The renminbi has slipped 5.8 per cent against the greenback this year, putting it on track for its biggest annual decline on record.

今年人民币兑美元下滑了5.8%，将创下有史以来最大年度跌幅纪录。

“All these measures are taken in order to strengthen control over capital outflows and check growing expectations for renminbi depreciation,” said Wang Jun, economist at the China Center for International Economic Exchange in Beijing. “Under the circumstances, it’s the only option. We’re losing a lot of foreign reserves.”

中国国际经济交流中心(China Center for International Economic Exchange)经济学家王军表示：“这些措施都是为了加强对资本流出的控制，并抑制对人民币贬值不断增长的预期。在这种情况下，这是唯一的选择。我们失去了大量外汇储备。”

After reaching almost $4tn in early 2014, Beijing’s forex reserves have fallen about 25 per cent. One Beijing-based money manager said the authorities were “putting all of their fingers in the dam”. “My sense is that they are going line-by-line to reduce outflows,” added a Hong Kong currency strategist.

中国的外汇储备在2014年初达到近4万亿美元，现已下降约25%。北京一位货币经理表示，有关部门“把所有手指头都用来堵住大坝”。香港一位货币策略师也表示：“我感到他们正慢慢地减少流出。”

China imported about 905 tonnes of gold in the first nine months of this year, according to export data from Hong Kong, Switzerland, Australia and the UK. Much of that is normally re-exported as jewellery.

据香港、瑞士、澳大利亚和英国出口数据，今年头9个月中国进口了约905吨黄金，其中绝大部分通常作为珠宝再出口。

In 2013 three foreign banks — HSBC, Standard Chartered and ANZ — were awarded licences to import gold, which the government controls via the quarterly quota system. A year later, the PBoC allowed the Shanghai Gold Exchange to set up an international board to open the market to foreign investors.

2013年，中国向三家外资银行——汇丰银行(HSBC)、渣打银行(Standard Chartered)和澳新银行(ANZ)授予了黄金进口许可证。中国通过季度配额制度对黄金进口实行控制。一年后，中国央行批准上海金交所设立国际板，向外国投资者开放了市场。

This year the SGE also launched a daily gold-pricing auction, similar to the process run in London between banks. “It’s like one step forward and three steps backwards,” one international banker said about the latest import restrictions.

今年，上海金交所还推出了上海金集中定价合约——类似于伦敦在银行之间的黄金定价方法。“这就像前进一步，倒退三步，”一位国际银行家在谈到最新的黄金进口限制时表示。

Chinese capital control measures have traditionally focused on tightening approvals for converting renminbi to dollars in China’s onshore market, then transferring those dollars abroad.

中国资本控制措施传统上聚焦于控制人民币在中国国内市场兑换为美元并转移至国外。

The State Administration for Foreign Exchange has given oral guidance to foreign banks in recent days, instructing them to apply for permission to buy foreign exchange for corporate clients needing to make dividend payments or repay shareholder loans, according to people familiar with the instructions.

知情人士表示，中国国家外汇管理局(SAFE)最近对外资银行发布了口头指导，要求它们对需要支付股息或偿还股东贷款而购汇的企业客户进行审批。

But the latest move by the PBoC concerns cross-border renminbi remittance. Once renminbi exits mainland China into the offshore market — which has emerged since 2010 as China has pushed to internationalise the currency — conversion to foreign exchange is unregulated.

但中国央行的最新举措关系到跨境人民币的汇兑。一旦人民币从中国内地进入离岸市场——人民币离岸市场出现于中国开始推动人民币国际化的2010年——兑换外汇就不受监管了。

The new curbs on outflows are likely to deal a further blow to the offshore renminbi market, where liquidity has already been tightening. Renminbi deposits in Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea and Taiwan fell 30 per cent between August 2015 and the end of September this year, according to data tracked by HSBC.

这种遏制资本外流的新举措可能会进一步打击离岸人民币市场，后者的流动性已经在紧缩当中。汇丰追踪的数据显示，从2015年8月到今年9月底，香港、新加坡、韩国和台湾的人民币存款下降了30%。

When investors or companies resort to the offshore market to sell renminbi for dollars, it does not immediately trigger foreign-currency outflows from the mainland. But it does create indirect outflow pressure.

当投资者或者企业依赖离岸市场用人民币购买美元的时候，它不会直接引发外汇流出内地，但它的确产生了间接的美元外流压力。

Heavy offshore renminbi selling can cause divergence between the onshore and offshore exchange rates. But the gap between two exchange rates eventually narrows due to arbitrage by banks and companies with access to both markets. These transactions involve transferring US dollars out of the onshore market.

离岸人民币大幅抛售可能导致国内外汇率出现差异。但由于同时进入两个市场的银行和企业的套利交易，两种汇率之间的差距最终会收窄。这些交易包括将美元转移出在岸市场。

“It’s part of the continued monitoring of the channels and the more stringent documentation requirements,” said a second foreign exchange strategist in Hong Kong. “The barriers just keep going up,”

香港另一位外汇策略师表示：“这是持续监控上述渠道以及更为严格的文件要求的一部分。壁垒持续增高。”