東北特鋼在董事長自殺後發生違約

A state-owned steelmaker in China’s northeastern Liaoning province has defaulted on a Rmb852m ($131m) corporate debt days after its chairman was said to have committed suicide.

中國東北遼寧省的一家國有鋼鐵企業的8.52億元人民幣（合1.31億美元）融資券已發生違約。據悉該公司董事長在幾天前自殺。

Yang Hua, 53, who also acted as the Communist party secretary of Dongbei Special Steel, was confirmed dead on March 25 by the company’s website, a day after police received reports that he had hanged himself at his home.

53歲的楊華生前兼任東北特鋼(Dongbei Special Steel)黨委書記。3月25日，公司網站確認了他的死訊。之前一天，警方接到了他在家中上吊身亡的報告。

Mr Yang joined the Dalian-based steelmaker in April 2015 from his role as deputy chairman of Anshan Steel. His death was cited by China Development Bank, which underwrote the debt, as a factor in Dongbei’s default.

2015年4月，楊華從鞍鋼(Anshan Steel)副董事長職位調到這家位於大連的鋼鐵企業。中國國開行(CDB)是東北特鋼融資券的承銷人。該行把楊華之死列爲此次違約的因素之一。

CDB said that despite “great efforts” by the company to raise money, as well as “many meetings” with local governments, the steelmaker had been unable to avoid default. A debenture-holder meeting would soon be arranged, it said.

中國國開行表示，儘管該公司爲籌集資金“做出巨大努力”，並與當地政府“舉行了多次會議”，但這家鋼鐵企業最終未能避免違約。該行表示，不久將安排召開一次債券持有人會議。

Defaults from local state-owned enterprises are rare in China, but may become more common as rapidly declining demand combined with Beijing’s reform agenda begins to push underperforming companies to the wall.

地方國企違約在中國很罕見，但隨着需求迅速降低，加上北京方面的改革議程開始把業績不佳的企業逼到牆角，這或許會變得更加常見。

Beijing is in the process of attempting to close hundreds of “zombie” companies in order to tackle overcapacity in the coal and steel sectors, but defaults risk transferring debt problems in the bloated industrial sector into fresh risks for a banking system struggling to rid itself of weighty non-performing loans.

北京方面正致力於關閉數以百計的“殭屍”企業，以紓解煤炭和鋼鐵行業產能過剩，但違約可能把臃腫的工業部門的債務問題轉化爲中國銀行體系的新風險，後者正苦於難以擺脫沉重的不良貸款。

Underperforming companies often subsist on life support for years, with preferential loans from local banks allowing them to build up debts but never go under due to their role in providing fiscal income and employment.

業績欠佳的國企經常依靠生命支持系統勉強支撐多年，鑑於它們發揮着提供財政收入和就業的角色，當地銀行會向其發放優惠貸款，允許其債務不斷積累，但絕不能倒閉。

“The average [debt to equity] ratio [for steelmakers] is about 70 per cent, but some companies have a ratio nearer to 90 or even 100,” said Wang Guoqing, a Beijing-based analyst at Lange Steel. “As soon as these companies are cut off, debt problems will come out.”

“（鋼鐵企業）的負債與股權之比平均大約爲70%，但一些企業接近90%，甚至是100%，”北京蘭格鋼鐵信息諮詢公司(Lange Steel)的分析師王國慶說，“一旦這些企業被切斷信貸，債務問題就會大爆發。”

Dongbei Special Steel Group’s debt to equity ratio is 85 per cent, according to statements released in September.

去年9月發佈的聲明顯示，東北特鋼的債務股本比達到85%。

Pressure for state steel mills to keep staff numbers high means weak balance sheets, according to Xu Zhongbo, of Beijing Metal Consulting. “[Dongbei Special Steel] is in a poor area when they are expected to employ lots of people.”

北京梅塔科諮詢有限公司(Beijing Metal Consulting)的許中波表示，鋼鐵企業面臨着維持大量員工的壓力，這意味着其資產負債表很虛弱。“（東北特鋼）處在一個不夠富裕的地區，該公司被寄望爲大量人口提供就業。”

Along with Rmb800m underwritten by China Development Bank, Dongbei Special also risks defaulting on Rmb1.015bn of 90-day commercial paper due in April, according to the Shanghai Clearing House website.

上海清算所(Shanghai Clearing House)網站消息稱，除了中國國開行承銷的逾8億元人民幣融資券，東北特鋼也可能在4月到期的10.15億元人民幣的90天期商業票據上違約。

Debt in coal and steel is estimated at Rmb8tn — one-third of which is bank borrowings — according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

中國國家統計局(National Bureau of Statistics)數據顯示，煤炭與鋼鐵行業的債務約爲8萬億元人民幣，其中三分之一是銀行貸款。

Local governments often balance the worry of adding extra non-performing loans to local banks’ balance sheets against mass lay-offs and unrest that may come from collapsing zombies.

增加當地銀行資產負債表上的不良貸款令人擔憂，而殭屍企業倒閉可能帶來大規模下崗和不安定局面，中國的地方政府經常要在兩者之間做出取捨。

The pressure makes restructuring a personal matter for officials. It was recently announced that officials who failed to avoid “mass incidents”, a euphemism for protests, would lose their jobs.

這種壓力使企業重組變成了官員們的個人事務。官方在不久前宣稱，未能避免“羣體性事件”——抗議活動的委婉說法——的官員將丟掉職位。