【英语财经】英国仍是外储投资安全港 Britain set to remain haven for foreign exchange reserves

When George Osborne, the British chancellor, told a Beijing audience during a trade visit two years ago that there was “no country in the west more open to investment from China” than the UK, there was more than a grain of truth amid the bluster.

From airports to student accommodation, from water utilities to London skyscrapers, over the past decade China has quietly become one of the biggest foreign owners of British bricks-and-mortar assets. Between 2005 and 2013, China spent about ￡11.7bn acquiring stakes in UK businesses — dominated by infrastructure — largely through state-owned investment funds, while billions more have been spent on office space and prime real estate.

Since Chinese economic growth began to falter and its stock market was sent spinning — weeks of turmoil have seen the authorities burn through $200bn to support share prices — the spotlight has fallen on this strategy of funnelling some of the country’s vast $3.65tn foreign exchange reserves overseas.

But experts in these sectors say the long-term nature of these investments, many of which are in unlisted companies that are well-established and vital to the functioning of the UK economy, means recent events are unlikely to herald a sudden retreat.

If anything, it could strengthen Britain’s allure as a haven in the financial storm.

“[The economic uncertainty] makes the case for more diversification by Chinese investors and they may therefore be more attracted by assets such as these,” said Michael Watson, of law firm Pinsent Masons. “The returns are perhaps not as stellar as promised by other riskier investments but they are steady and more predictable and long-term.”

Colin Smith, of the consultants PwC, said: “Recent circumstances are unlikely to deter their investment consensus and I think the pressure is on Chinese state-owned enterprises to deploy capital in overseas safe havens. I would be hugely surprised if this marked the end of major infrastructure investing.”

A report by the London-based Centre for Economics and Business Research forecast that China would invest ￡105bn in the British energy, property and transport sectors by 2025.

Infrastructure is seen as particularly attractive because of the UK’s stable regulatory environment, inflation-linked returns and revenue streams that are often backed by the government. Some infrastructure companies are in effect monopolies.

This has seen the likes of China Investment Corporation amass a 10 per cent stake in London’s Heathrow airport, Europe’s busiest air hub, for about ￡450m. It is expected to be involved in the financing and construction of a third runway, should that plan win the UK government’s approval, and also owns nearly 9 per cent of

Thames Water, the UK’s biggest water and sewage utility.

Gingko Tree Investment, a secretive arm of China’s foreign exchange administration, has a one-tenth holding in the consortium that owns Affinity Water

and also holds 40 per cent of UPP, a university accommodation provider.

Chinese sovereign wealth funds have spent about ￡5bn on infrastructure and real estate transactions in the UK, according to Sovereign Wealth Center, a data provider. One person familiar with a Chinese government-owned investment fund said there was “no sense that the investment strategy would change”.

Private investors have also been active. Investment vehicles backed by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing acquired nearly one-third of the UK passenger train fleet through rolling stock company

Eversholt

for ￡1.1bn in January. This added to his Cheung Kong Infrastructure’s ownership of Northumbrian Water, Northern Gas Networks, UK Power Networks

and some of the UK’s largest ports through Hutchison Port Holdings.

“对来自中国的投资，西方没有一个国家比英国更加开放”——当英国财政大臣乔治?奥斯本(George Osborne)在两年前的一次贸易访问期间对北京听众说出这番话时，他的豪言道出的不只是一个事实。

从机场到学生公寓，从水务企业到伦敦的摩天大楼，过去10年中国已悄然成为英国实体资产最大的外国所有者之一。2005年至2013年间，中国主要通过国有的投资基金，斥资117亿英镑收购英国企业的股份——以基础设施领域为主，同时，还在写字楼和高端地产领域投资数十亿英镑。

由于中国经济增长放缓以及股市大起大落（几周的震荡已经让当局烧掉了2000亿美元用于支撑股价），此时人们关注的焦点落在了中国将其3.65万亿美元巨额外汇储备中的一部分部署到海外的战略之上。

但此类领域的专家称，这些投资——其中许多都投在一些老牌的、对英国经济运行至关重要的非上市公司——的长期性，说明近期的形势变化不大可能预示着投资突然回撤。

如果有什么影响的话，只会加强英国作为金融风暴中安全港的吸引力。

“（经济不确定性）有理由让中国投资者将投资更加多元化，他们可能因此更被此类资产所吸引，”品诚梅森律师事务所(Pinsent Masons)的迈克尔?沃森(Michael Watson)说，“回报或许不像其他风险较高的投资那么丰厚，但它们很稳定、更可预见且具有长期性。”

咨询公司普华永道(PwC)的科林?史密斯(Colin Smith)说：“最近的形势不大可能影响他们的投资共识，我认为中国国企有压力将资本配置在海外安全港上。如果这标志着大规模基础设施投资的结束，我会感到非常震惊。”

位于伦敦的经济和商业研究中心(Centre for Economics and Business Research)发布的一份报告预测，到2025年，中国将在英国的能源、房地产和交通领域投资1050亿英镑。

由于英国稳定的监管环境、与通胀挂钩的回报以及通常由政府支持的收入流，该国的基础设施被视为尤其具有吸引力。一些基础设施公司实际上处于垄断地位。

被吸引来的外国投资机构很多，包括中国投资有限责任公司（CIC，简称中投），斥资约4.5亿英镑收购了欧洲最繁忙的航空枢纽——希思罗机场(Heathrow Airport)10%的股份。预计中投将参与第三条跑道的融资和建设，如果该计划获得英国政府批准的话。中投还拥有英国最大的水务和污水处理企业泰晤士水务(Thames Water)近9%的股份。

中国国家外汇管理局(SAFE)下属的秘密投资机构Gingko Tree Investment在拥有Affinity Water所有权的财团持有10%股份，还拥有大学宿舍提供商University Partnerships Programme(UPP)40%的股份。

数据提供商主权财富中心(Sovereign Wealth Center)的数据显示，中国主权财富基金已斥资约50亿英镑用于基础设施和房地产交易。一位熟悉中国一只国有投资基金的人士称，这种投资策略发生变化是“毫无意义的”。

私人投资者也很活跃。香港亿万富翁李嘉诚(Li ka-shing)旗下的投资机构今年1月斥资11亿英镑收购轨道车辆公司Eversholt，从而拥有英国近三分之一的客运列车。此前，李嘉诚的长江基建(Cheung Kong Infrastructure)已经拥有了英国Northumbrian水务、北方燃气网(Northern Gas Networks)以及英国电网(UK Power Networks)的所有权，李嘉诚还通过和记港口控股(Hutchison Port Holdings)拥有英国最大的一些港口。

译者/陈隆祥