The Central SOE Credit Protection Fund does not have the right to be a "zombie company"
Our reporter Zhou Lei
On July 23, the central enterprise credit protection fund was formally established. After nearly two years of preliminary work, the 100 billion yuan-level central enterprise credit protection fund with both "emergency" and "credit enhancement" functions has officially landed, and the guarantee of central enterprise bond payment has been further enhanced. It is understood that the central enterprise credit protection fund was jointly funded and established by China Guoxin and 31 central enterprises, with a total scale of 100 billion yuan and the first phase of 10 billion yuan.
Data shows that the total size of my country's bond market in 2019 exceeded 95 trillion yuan, ranking second in the world, with 41 trillion yuan of bonds issued throughout the year. State-owned enterprises are important participants in my country's bond market, and the balance of various types of domestic bonds currently amounts to 5.4 trillion yuan. Insiders said that, as the pillar and ballast of the national economy, the bonds issued by central enterprises are an important benchmark for China’s bond market. Once risks or defaults occur, they will seriously affect the confidence of domestic and foreign investors, and affect financial market stability and economic security. .
At present, the external situation is severe and complex, and uncertainties are increasing. The impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic has never been unprecedented. At present, the risk of central enterprise bond redemption is generally controllable and under control. While central SOEs ensure their own steady development, it is necessary to strengthen strategic research and judgment and forward-looking layout, and further improve the bottom line and prevent risks from a larger level.
Yuan Ye, deputy director of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, stated that the establishment of a normalized, standardized and market-oriented central enterprise bond redemption risk mitigation mechanism through the establishment of a central enterprise credit protection fund is conducive to further consolidating the capital chain of central enterprises, and firmly guards against systemic risks in extraordinary times. The bottom line is to take the initiative to prevent and defuse the risk of central enterprises’ bond redemption. It plays an important role in enhancing the ability of central enterprises to resist risks. At the same time, it will realize the superposition and enlargement of the credit of central enterprises, further enhance the capital market’s confidence in central enterprises, support central enterprises in financing in the domestic bond market, reduce financing costs, and provide strong support for central enterprises to take the lead in achieving restorative growth, and accelerate the promotion of layout optimization and structural adjustment. .
Judging from the past situation of dealing with the default risk of a few corporate bonds such as China Iron and Steel, it is costly, difficult, time-consuming and has a great impact on the capital market to rely solely on the enterprises themselves and the regulatory authorities to deal with them. By learning from the common experience and practices of securities, insurance, trust and other industries, the establishment of a central enterprise credit protection fund and the establishment of a bond redemption risk mitigation mechanism are important guarantees for realizing the mutual assistance of central enterprises.
The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council has put forward clear requirements on how to make good use of the credit protection funds of central enterprises in the future.
First of all, the fund must operate and manage in accordance with the principles of "limited assistance, emergency protection, risk controllable, and market operation", clarify the conditions of assistance, methods of assistance, and repayment responsibilities, establish a market restraint mechanism, implement the liability for default of bond-issuing enterprises, and prevent excessive reliance on temporary Relief mechanism to ensure the safety of funds.
Secondly, for state-owned enterprises that publicly issue bonds in the country, have good corporate governance, have a market for products, and have promising development, temporarily unable to fulfill their bond maturity redemption obligations due to temporary capital turnover difficulties, etc., they may be granted temporary paid use for a period of time. Financial aid.
Third, in principle, no assistance will be given to “zombie companies” that commit fraud, fraudulent issuance, or illegal activities that lack hematopoietic capacity and occupy resources ineffectively.