China's Economic Boom Masks Financing Limits of Big Firms
Strength in China's economy, including solid corporate-profit growth and surging foreign investment, is masking balance-sheet problems at the nation's biggest companies, according to a report by Citigroup Inc. and Moody's Investors Service Inc.
The report compares 686 of China's largest listed companies with nearly 5,000 other publicly traded companies throughout the world, and it concludes the average big Chinese company is behind the global curve in developing a flexible financial structure. The report is to be presented at a meeting organized by Citigroup and Moody's today as they brief senior financial officers of about 100 of China's largest publicly traded companies.
The report, based on data reported for 2004 by the companies, ticks off a number of danger signs at big Chinese companies. They rely too much on simple bank lending. Half of their bank borrowing is for periods of a year or less. Nearly every dollar of profit earned by Chinese companies has been offset by new loans for investment. Only 13 Chinese companies have obtained an internationally recognized credit rating.
Capital markets provide few alternatives for longer-term funding. The report notes that the size of China's stock market, relative to gross domestic product, ranks behind that of every major economy, and the corporate-bond market is essentially nonexistent.
It all adds up to rigid financial structures that don't allow Chinese companies much breathing room should economic fundamentals change. In contrast, companies elsewhere usually tailor their financing to be more adjustable to their individual needs and to changing conditions.
Carsten Stendevad, head of Citigroup's emerging-markets financial strategy group in New York and the report's lead author, said one purpose of the report is to drive business to Citibank and Moody's, by encouraging Chinese companies to turn to the U.S. companies for help in modernizing their capital structures. Still, he said, the report is based on data reported by the firms.
Many of the companies' problems are a reflection of China's heavily regulated financial system and aren't necessarily indicative of poor corporate strategies. Chinese regulators have essentially frozen stock-market fund raising for several months, while the continued poor performance of key stock indexes has discouraged many companies from participating in the market.
Many companies are barred under government restrictions from issuing bonds. Controls on derivatives activity limits their financing options.
Foreign banks have been quietly pressing for business with Chinese companies after Beijing gave the green light for the banks to handle commercial business nearly a year ago. The foreign banks also are responding to signals that more-sophisticated financial hedging products are becoming acceptable to authorities.
中国大企业财务结构缺乏灵活性
中国经济正显示出强劲活力，企业利润稳健增长，外国投资不断攀升，但花旗集团(Citigroup)编撰的报告显示，这种繁荣之下掩盖著中国大型企业在资产负债方面存在的问题。
这份27页的报告将中国最大的686家上市公司的业绩与近5,000家分布在全球其他地区的上市公司作了比较。报告得出的结论是，在财务结构的灵活性方面，中国大企业的平均水平落后于全球总体水平。在由花旗和穆迪投资服务公司(Moody's Investors Service)赞助的发布会上，这份报告将向与会的约100家中国大型上市公司公布。
这份根据上市公司2004年公布的相关数据编写的报告列举了中国大型上市公司存在的诸多危险信号，其中包括：对银行过于依赖，它们的银行贷款有半数的期限都短于一年。这些企业获得的每一分钱利润几乎都被用于投资的新贷款成本所抵销。在中国大型上市公司中，只有13家公司获得了国际认可的评级。
中国资本市场为上市公司提供的长期融资渠道非常有限。报告指出，中国股市当前规模相对于中国国内生产总值的比例低于世界其他主要经济体，而其企业债券市场基本上形同虚设。
这些情况导致中国企业的财务结构非常僵化，一旦经济基本面发生变化，企业很难有喘息空间。相比之下，其他国家的企业通常都会根据自己的具体需求安排融资，并使其易于随情况变化及时作出调整。
花旗驻纽约的新兴市场财务战略部门负责人卡斯藤?斯坦戴福(Carsten Stendevad)说，推出这份报告的目的是为推动花旗银行和穆迪投资的业务，鼓励与会中国企业向花旗和穆迪寻求改善资本结构的良方。不过他说，报告依据的数据都是这些公司自己公布的。
他说，中国企业的董事会很少讨论如何建立灵活的财务结构，企业在这方面不能有什么计划。
实际上，这些企业的问题有很多是由于中国金融体制监管过严所致，未必是企业自身战略上的问题。今年以来，中国股市新股发行有几个月的时间实际处于冻结状态，而主要股指持续表现不佳让许多公司对上市的热情也降至冰点。
许多企业受政府规定限制也无法发行债券。政府对衍生金融产品交易活动的控制使企业的融资渠道非常有限，银行方面也是如此，它们只愿意做超短期的贷款。
大约一年前中国政府批准外资银行开办商业贷款，此后外资银行开始悄悄推进对中国企业的业务。在中国7月份上调人民币汇率之后，有迹象显示中国政府有可能接受更复杂的金融对冲产品，对此，外资银行也作出了回应。
据中国官方媒体本周报导说，目前，外资银行在中国境内共有225家分支机构，有19家外国金融公司通过参股中资银行在中国建立了一定的根基，它们的出资合计达到165亿美元。
外国金融机构对中国可能给它们带来的增长机会一向反应敏捷。据银行业人士从监管机构那里听到的情况，今年上半年，为打击外汇投机交易，中国政府要求国内银行放慢美元贷款业务，而外资银行立刻乘虚而入。在上海的外资银行分支机构第一次在美元贷款发放规模上超过中国国内银行，而目前外资银行在华资产还不到中国银行业资产总额的2%。
