中國多家上市公司停牌以應對股票質押危機

Listed Chinese companies are being forced to halt trading as their owners attempt to unwind risky bets they have made pledging company stock for loans.

中國一些上市公司正被迫停牌，原因是它們的所有者試圖退出通過質押公司股票來獲取貸款的高風險押注。

As China tightened access to credit in 2017 to address its mounting corporate debts, controlling shareholders in many smaller listed companies used their shares as collateral for credit.

隨著中國在2017年收緊信貸獲取渠道以試圖解決國內愈演愈烈的公司債務問題，許多規(guī)模較小的上市公司的控股股東利用其股票作為抵押以獲得信貸。

But market jitters since the start of this month have pushed companies to warn their shareholders that they could face margin calls as share prices fall.

但是，自本月初以來的市場恐慌已促使相關公司警告其股東：隨著股價下跌，他們可能面臨追加擔保品的要求。

Shenzhen-listed Shenwu Environmental Technology was one of at least 20 groups in February that has stopped trading because of the risk of a “margin call”, where a share price decline triggers a demand to top up any money borrowed to buy the stock.

深圳上市的神霧環(huán)保技術是2月份因追繳保證金風險(股價下跌觸發(fā)一個要求：追加為買入股票而借入的資金)而停牌的至少20家集團之一。

A margin call often forces a sell-off of the stock to raise this money and can lead to a collapse in the share price.

追加保證金要求往往會迫使股東拋售股票以籌集資金，可能導致股價崩盤。

China’s tighter controls over credit last year led to a wave of share pledges by listed groups: as of mid-December, shareholders in 317 Shanghai and Shenzhen-listed companies had pledged at least 40 per cent of their stock, compared with 224 companies a year earlier.

中國去年收緊對信貸的控制，導致上市集團紛紛質押股票：截至去年12月中旬，在上海和深圳上市的317家公司的股東質押了至少40%所持股票，而上年同期的這個數(shù)字為224家公司。

Pledged shares for loans is one means that the companies have to access funding outside the traditional banking sector. Many others have borrowed from “shadow” lenders, often at high costs.

以股票作質押獲取貸款，是企業(yè)不得不從傳統(tǒng)銀行業(yè)以外獲取資金的一種手段。還有很多企業(yè)向“影子”貸款機構借款，往往為此付出高昂費用。

“This is all part of the deleveraging campaign,” said Hong Hao, head of research in Bocom International in Hong Kong. “The owners of these companies have had to pledge shares just to get access to capital.”

“這是去杠桿化運動的一部分，”香港交銀國際(Bocom International)研究部負責人洪灝表示。“這些公司的所有者為了獲得資金而不得不質押股票。”

Shenwu noted in a regulatory filing that its controlling shareholder has pledged more than 40 per cent of the group’s shares and was now in discussion with the margin lender.

神霧環(huán)保在一份監(jiān)管申報文件中指出，其控股股東已質押集團40%以上的股票，目前正與質權人溝通。

China’s securities regulator has started looking into the use of stock as collateral for loans, the state-owned newspaper Securities Times reported. In some cases, companies have noted in regulatory filings that the securities regulator is investigating the shareholders that have pledged the stock.

據(jù)官方的《證券時報》報道，中國證券監(jiān)管機構已開始研究以股票作質押獲取貸款的做法。在某些情況下，公司在監(jiān)管申報文件中承認，證券監(jiān)管機構正在調查已經質押股票的股東。

Many smaller listed companies in China are facing a slowdown in growth. Partly because it is trying to cut debt, China’s growth is likely to slow in 2018, a factor that has weighed on the performance of many of Shenzhen’s small-cap companies.

中國許多規(guī)模較小的上市公司正面臨增長放緩。部分因為試圖減少債務，2018年中國經濟增長很可能會放緩，這是影響深圳許多小盤股公司業(yè)績的一個因素。

Shenzhen’s tech-focused ChiNext index has been falling gradually since 2015, but fell around 12 per cent between January 25 and February 9.

側重于科技股的深圳創(chuàng)業(yè)板(ChiNext)指數(shù)自2015年以來逐漸下跌，但在1月25日至2月9日期間下跌了12%左右。

“Some of these companies are heading toward dangerous territory,” said one Shanghai-based analyst at a global bank, who noted it was not normal for companies to halt trading because they faced the risk of margin calls.

“其中一些公司正在跌向危險區(qū)間，”某家全球性銀行常駐上海的一名分析師表示。此人指出，上市公司因為面臨追繳保證金的風險而停牌是不正常的。

But the halting of trading to deal with problems could be a good sign, Mr Hong said.

但洪灝表示，停牌以應對問題可能是一個好兆頭。

In the past, shareholders facing margin calls would likely have been forced to sell off the stake without warning, he said. But China’s securities regulator has recently given companies permission to allow shareholders to work through problems with debtors instead of selling up to pay back loans.

他表示，過去，面臨追繳保證金要求的股東很可能被迫在沒有任何預警的情況下拋售股份。但中國證券監(jiān)管機構最近授權公司允許股東與債權人協(xié)商解決問題，而不是為了償還貸款而拋售股票。