【英语财经】俄拟发行价值10亿美元的人民币计价国债 Russia to raise $1bn in renminbi bonds

Russia is preparing to raise $1bn in renminbi-denominated sovereign bonds in Moscow next year in a move that would potentially open a new source of foreign funding for its banks and businesses, shut out of capital markets in the US and Europe by sanctions.

The issuance, which would add to the international expansion of China’s currency, could lead to rouble-denominated bonds being issued in China and help promote similar cross-currency issuance by other big emerging markets, eating into the dominant role of the US dollar in global capital markets.

Denis Shulakov, head of capital markets at Gazprombank, which is providing informal assistance in preparing the issue, said the bond would set a benchmark interest rate in renminbi for the Russian Federation and, subsequently, for corporate issuers. “That’s the first objective,” he said.

“The second is to diversify the investor base [for Russian borrowers] and bring in a new source of liquidity that comes with the internationalisation of the renminbi.”

From China’s perspective, the bond adds to the international reach of the renminbi, which the International Monetary Fund decided last week to include in its elite basket of reserve currencies.

It could also further the development of money-

market instruments to allow more trade and investment between China, Russia and other emerging markets to be conducted in those countries’ currencies, bypassing the need for foreign-exchange contracts typically

in dollars.

Russia’s move follows a similar step by the UK, which last year became the first western country to issue renminbi-denominated sovereign debt. China is preparing to issue renminbi-denominated government debt in London.

“In London the renminbi is seen as an opportunity but in New York it is seen as a threat,” said Jon Vollemaere, chief executive of R5FX, a currency-trading company specialising in emerging markets.

“The best thing to happen recently for the Chinese money market is Washington deciding not to do business with Russia for a while.”

Several Russian banks have issued renminbi- denominated bonds in Hong Kong in the past two years. But next year’s would be the first sovereign issue, and

the first in Moscow.

Many Russian companies have been barred from issuing foreign-currency bonds in dollars or euros since September 2014, when sanctions were imposed by the US and the EU.

Russian groups issuing renminbi bonds in Moscow could expect to pay higher interest than with dollar- denominated debt. But Mr Shulakov said that even if sanctions were lifted, Russia would still seek additional funding options.

“Memories for investors fade quickly but for borrowers they do not,” he said. “Yesterday you could get picked up by sanctions for one reason, tomorrow for another. You need to be able to access capital where you can control the game.”

俄罗斯准备明年在莫斯科发行10亿美元的人民币计价主权债券，此举将可能为该国银行和企业开辟一条对外融资新渠道。制裁已导致美国和欧洲的资本市场对俄罗斯的银行和企业关上了大门。

此次发债——将有利于推动人民币国际化进程——可能导致中国方面发行以卢布计价的债券，并帮助推动其他大型新兴市场经济体之间发行以对方货币计价的债券，从而削弱美元在全球资本市场上的支配地位。

俄罗斯天然气工业银行股份公司(Gazprombank)资本市场部主管丹尼斯?舒拉科夫(Denis Shulakov)表示，此次发债将为俄联邦、并随之为企业发行方设定人民币基准利率。该银行正在为发行提供非正式支持。“这是第一个目标，”舒拉科夫说。

“第二个目标是，（帮俄罗斯借款机构）实现投资者来源多元化，并在人民币国际化之际，带来一种新的流动性来源。”

从中国角度来看，此次发债会扩大人民币的国际影响范围。上周，国际货币基金组织(IMF)决定把人民币纳入其精英储备货币篮子。

此举也将推动货币市场工具的发展，允许中国、俄罗斯和其他新兴市场国家利用这些国家的货币完成更多贸易和投资，而不必像往常那样签订美元外汇合约。

此前，英国也采取了类似做法。去年，英国成为第一个发行人民币计价主权债券的西方国家。中国正准备在伦敦发行以人民币计价的政府债券。

“在伦敦，人民币被视为一种机遇，但在纽约，人民币则被视为一种威胁，”专注于新兴市场的货币交易机构R5FX的首席执行官乔恩?傅勒梅(Jon Vollemaere)说。

“近来发生的对中国货币市场最有利的事情是，华盛顿方面决定中止对俄商业往来一段时间。”

过去两年里，俄罗斯的几家银行已在香港发行了人民币计价债券。但明年的发债将是第一次发行人民币计价的主权债券，在莫斯科也尚属首次。

自2014年9月美国和欧盟(EU)实行对俄制裁以来，许多俄罗斯公司已被禁止发行以美元或欧元计价的外币债券。

在莫斯科发行人民币债券的俄罗斯企业可能将支付比美元计价债券更高的利息。但舒拉科夫表示，即使制裁解除了，俄罗斯仍将寻求额外的融资渠道。

“投资者的记忆消退得很快，但借款人不是这样，”他说。“昨天，你可能因为某个理由遭到制裁，明天，你可能因为另一个理由成为制裁对象。你需要有能力在自己可以控制游戏规则的地方筹集资金。”

译者/邢嵬