卡塔尔拟大举投资中国资本市场

Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund is seeking approval to invest up to $5bn in Chinese stocks and bonds, which would make it the biggest foreign investor in China’s capital markets.

卡塔尔的主权财富基金正在申请向中国股票和债券投资至多50亿美元的资格，这将使其成为中国资本市场的最大境外投资者。

Beijing keeps a tight grip on capital flows across its borders, and foreign institutions that are seeking to buy stocks or bonds must obtain a special quota. The upper limit is currently set at $1bn, which would thwart Qatar’s plans. But Chinese regulators are considering lifting that cap in order to attract more foreign investment and to further their strategy of gradually opening the country’s capital account.

北京方面严格控制跨境资本流动，寻求购买中国股票或债券的境外机构必须获得特别的投资额度。目前的上限设定在10亿美元，这对卡塔尔方面的计划构成障碍。但中国监管机构正考虑提高投资额度上限，以吸引更多境外投资，并推进逐渐放开中国资本账户的战略。

Reports of the Qatari application were touted in Chinese state media yesterday as a sign of foreign investors’ confidence in the Chinese economy.

中国官方媒体昨日热炒卡塔尔方面的申请，称其为表明境外投资者对中国经济有信心的迹象。

Mohammed Bin Saleh al-Sada, Qatar’s energy and industry minister, was quoted by the TingVoa.com news agency as saying the investment decision reflected faith in China’s long-term growth potential.

新华社援引卡塔尔能源与工业大臣穆罕默德·本·萨利赫·萨达(Mohammed Bin Saleh al-Sada)的话表示，这个投资决定反映了卡塔尔方面对中国长期增长潜力的信心。

The Chinese Securities Journal, an official financial newspaper, said other institutions already holding investment quotas under the qualified foreign institutional investor programme had applied in recent months to increase their allocations by a total of $12.5bn.

官方财经报纸《中国证券报》(Chinese Securities Journal)称，在合格境外机构投资者(QFII)机制下已经持有投资额度的其它机构，近月来也纷纷申请增加投资额度，这些机构申请增加的投资额度总计125亿美元。

Temasek, Singapore’s state-owned investment company, is among those that have asked for a bigger quota.

新加坡国有投资公司淡马锡(Temasek)是申请提高投资额度的境外机构之一。

In April, China said foreign investors would be allowed to invest a total of $80bn in the country’s capital markets, up from a previous limit of $30bn. Analysts have noted that this increase, while substantial, just manages to keep pace with the growth of China’s capital markets. If the quota is fully subscribed, foreign investors will still account for only about 1 per cent of total free-float market capitalisation in China.

今年4月，中国宣布境外投资者将获准在境内资本市场投资总共800亿美元，远高于此前300亿美元的上限。分析师们指出，这一上调尽管幅度较大，但只是跟上了中国资本市场的增长步伐。即使这些投资额度被全额发放，境外投资者仍将仅占中国自由流通股总市值的大约1%。

Along with increasing the quota, the China Securities Regulatory Commission has tried to make it easier for foreigners to invest in the country’s markets.

除了上调投资额度外，中国证监会(CSRC)还尝试让境外投资者更容易在中国市场进行投资。

Last week it announced that international fund managers with as little as $500m under management and two years’ operating experience could apply for investment licences.

该监管机构上周宣布，只有两年操作经验、旗下管理的资产只有5亿美元的境外基金管理公司，也可申请投资资格。

That was a significant relaxation of the previous threshold, which required institutions to have $5bn under management and a five-year record.

相比此前的门槛（相关机构须有五年运营记录，旗下管理的资产至少要有50亿美元），这是一个重大的放松之举。

The CSRC has also vowed to simplify the application procedures for international investors, allowing them to submit applications online and promising to conduct speedy reviews.

中国证监会还已誓言简化针对境外投资者的申请程序，让他们能够在网上提交申请，并承诺进行快速的审批。

If the securities regulator approves the Qatari application, Qatar will then need permission from the Chinese foreign exchange administrator to actually bring the money into the country, adding another layer of bureaucracy to the process.

如果中国证监会批准了卡塔尔方面的申请，卡方还需要获得中国外汇管理部门的许可，才能真正把资金投入中国，这给整个过程增添了又一个官僚环节。

The Qatar Investment Authority, which says it has more than $100bn in assets, does not yet possess a licence for investing in Chinese markets. Mr al-Sada was in Beijing for a China-Qatar investment and co-operation meeting. He was quoted by Chinese media as saying that Qatar would use its revenues from selling liquefied gas to China to invest in the country’s capital markets. The securities regulator?said?it?would?“actively?assist Qatar in obtaining approval for its investment quota.

自称拥有逾1000亿美元资产的卡塔尔投资局(Qatar Investment Authority)，目前并未拥有在中国市场进行投资的资格。萨达正在北京参加中卡投资合作委员会联络人首次会晤。

中国媒体援引他的话称，卡塔尔将利用其向中国销售液化天然气(LNG)所得的收入，投资于中国资本市常中国证监会表示，将“积极协助卡塔尔方面申请QFII投资额度。