中資銀行積極爲亞洲基礎設施提供資金

As Asia teems with infrastructure activity, western banks are quietly disappearing from the market. In their place regional banks have emerged as the dominant players, with Chinese lenders now the driving force.

就在亞洲基礎設施活動火熱之際，西方銀行正悄然從這個市場消失。它們撤出後，地區銀行成爲主力玩家，尤其是中資銀行現在成了推動力量。

The whittling away of European and US names from the region’s infrastructure financing line-up has been a long time coming. The crises of 1997 and 2008 helped clear out weaker players.

歐美銀行從亞洲基礎設施融資機構的陣容撤出由來已久。1997年和2008年的兩場危機，幫助清理掉了實力較弱的玩家。

But more recently, a flood of new projects and liquidity in local markets have made regional banks difficult to beat on the cost of financing. With appetite for currency and sovereign risk low among global banks, lenders such as China Development Bank and Korea Development Bank have quickly stepped up, cheque in hand.

但近年來，當地市場上出現大量的新工程和流動性，使地區銀行在融資成本上難以打敗。由於全球銀行對匯率和主權風險的偏好較低，中國國家開發銀行(CDB)和韓國產業銀行(KDB)等銀行迅速填補空白，帶來大量資金。

“In some respects, Chinese banks are prepared to change the basis on which these types of projects have been traditionally financed,” says Martin David, a principal at Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow, the law firm, who is based in Singapore.

“在某些方面，中資銀行準備改變這類工程的傳統融資依據，”貝克?麥堅時律所(Baker & McKenzie Wong & Leow)駐新加坡的合夥人馬丁?戴維(Martin David)說。

By the end of 2016, just one western bank was in the league tables for the top 20 bank financiers for infrastructure in Asia, data from Dealogic show. Crédit Agricole retained the number 18 spot on the list, with $854m. A year earlier, six European banks made the list, pulling off $3.6bn in financing.

Dealogic數據顯示，到2016年底，亞洲基礎設施領域前20大銀行融資人排行榜上，僅有一家西方銀行。法國農業信貸銀行(Crédit Agricole)保住了第18位的排名，提供資金額爲8.54億美元。一年前，上榜的歐洲銀行有6家，提供融資額總量爲36億美元。

Among the top 10, Chinese banks took seven places, up from one the year before. China Development Bank crowned the list.

在榜單前10名裏，中資銀行佔了7席，而上一年佔了1席。中國國開行位於榜首。

The race to the top was rapid. In 2012, banks from China that made it into the top 20 did $4.47bn in infrastructure finance in Asia, holding 11.2 per cent of the total market. Four years later, Chinese banks did $38.4bn, more than 60 per cent of the market.

中資銀行的衝頂速度非常快。2012年，進入榜單前20名的中資銀行在亞洲基礎設施領域提供了44.7億美元資金，佔市場總額的11.2%。4年後，中資銀行提供融資384億美元，市場份額高於60%。

A surge in domestic liquidity has hastened the trend — and has helped exclude capital markets financing. As US interest rates gradually rise, many Asian countries have kept their markets cushioned with cash. For countries such as Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, where domestic economic growth has been strong, banks are resting on deposit bases ready to be deployed. The People’s Bank of China, the central bank, has only in recent months started to tighten the strings after years of monetary easing.

國內流動性大增加快了這一趨勢，並幫助排除了資本市場融資。隨着美國逐漸加息，許多亞洲國家用現金爲市場提供緩衝。對於近年國內經濟增長強勁的泰國、印尼和菲律賓等國而言，銀行依靠隨時可動用的存款基礎。在多年保持寬鬆貨幣政策之後，中國人民銀行(PBoC)只是在近幾個月才收緊了政策。

“You continued to have strong bank liquidity in the market so it has been harder for the capital markets and institutional investors to get an increasing portion of regional infrastructure financing volumes,” says James Cameron, HSBC’s Asia Pacific head of infrastructure finance.

“市場上有着強勁的銀行流動性，因此一段時間以來資本市場和機構投資者更難分得亞洲基礎設施融資的更大份額，”匯豐(HSBC)亞太基礎設施融資業務總監詹姆斯?卡梅隆(James Cameron)說。

Instead of capital market-based finance, government-supported deals have taken a lead position in the sector. China, for example, has launched a $900bn “One Belt, One Road” infrastructure programme with several projects — ports, roads, rail lines — popping up across Asia. Many of those deals are brokered directly with local governments and bring in state-controlled banks and companies to finance and build the projects.

政府支持的交易超過資本市場融資，在亞洲基礎設施融資領域佔據了領先地位。例如，中國啓動了規模達9000億美元的“一帶一路”(OBOR)基礎設施計劃，其中多個項目——港口、公路和鐵路——在亞洲各地突然冒出來。這些交易有很多是直接跟當地政府達成的，同時讓國有控股的銀行和企業出資和承建項目。

Global banks are often limited to projects with dollar revenue streams, says ANZ’s Stella Saris, a director on the bank’s resources, energy and infrastructure team in Singapore. ANZ recently took part in the financing of international container terminals at Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok port. International ships docking in the port pay fees in US dollars, which can be used to pay back bank loans with little currency risk.

澳新銀行(ANZ)駐新加坡的資源、能源與基礎設施業務團隊主管斯特拉?薩里斯(Stella Saris)表示，全球銀行往往侷限於能夠開啓美元收入流的項目。不久前，澳新銀行參與了爲雅加達丹戎不碌港(Tanjung Priok)國際集裝箱碼頭提供融資。靠泊該港的國際船舶以美元支付費用，這些美元收入隨後可用於償還銀行貸款，幾乎沒有匯率風險。

Other obstacles have been more difficult for global banks to sidestep. As the number of infrastructure projects swells in the region, there are more questions about quality. Experts say the market is flooded with poor-quality deals that only local banks will consider. “This is certainly a problem,” says Vivek Rao, a principal financial sector specialist at the Asian Development Bank who focuses on infrastructure. “Companies are struggling to establish quality contracts.”

其他障礙是全球銀行更難迴避的。亞洲基礎設施項目數量的增多，引發了關於質量的更多疑問。專家表示，市場上充斥着太多質量低劣的項目，只有當地銀行纔會考慮介入。“這肯定是個問題，”亞開行(ADB)專門研究基礎設施業務的金融行業主管專家維韋克?拉奧(Vivek Rao)說，“企業很難簽到高質量的合同。”

Many of the problems are connected to local laws. In Indonesia, for example, it can take five years to secure the rights to land, leading to a timeframe and regulatory risk only local banks have been willing to take.

許多問題與當地法律有關。例如，在印尼，可能需要5年時間纔會獲得地權，由此帶來的時間框架和監管風險只有當地銀行才願意承受。

In one recent case, a coal-fired power plant project in the region failed to secure a coal supply agreement, according to Mr David. Such an agreement is indispensable when demonstrating to potential creditors that the project is feasible.

律師戴維表示，近期的一個例子是，亞洲一個燃煤電廠項目未能達成煤炭供應協議。在向潛在債權人證明項目可行性時，這類協議是必不可少的。

Chinese banks, however, opted for a completion agreement from the project’s Chinese financial sponsors in place of the coal-supply agreement, taking on an unheard-of level of risk while at the same time sealing the deal.

然而，中資銀行選擇跟該項目的中國財務贊助方達成一份項目完工協議，而不是煤炭供應協議，在敲定交易的同時承擔了聞所未聞的風險。

“Global banks and even local banks would never consider doing this type of approach,” Mr David says.

“全球銀行、甚至當地銀行絕不會考慮這種做法，”戴維說。