The city investment platform was born because of government financing, but under the background of strong supervision, tight financing and "de-government", the life of the city investment platform is getting worse and worse. In particular, banks, trusts and other financing channels are blocked, and the city investment platform has to find new financing outlets. According to the industry, the financing pressure of the city investment platform this year is very obvious. "The goal is to get the loan first, and cost is not the most important consideration." As a result, financial leasing with assets out of the table, funds arriving quickly and high cost has become the "guest" of the city investment platform.
The cost is higher
Since 20 14, the state has issued a series of documents to regulate the urban investment and financing platform. On the one hand, it tries to separate the relationship between financing platform credit and local government credit, so as to make financing platform market-oriented; On the other hand, government agencies are prohibited from providing guarantees or related land mortgages for financing platforms to curb the increase of hidden debts of local governments and resolve local debt risks. However, according to industry analysis, although "de-government" is the general trend, the status of the city investment platform is difficult to replace in the short term. In the context of tightening supervision and financing environment, some platforms with weak financial strength may have liquidity crunch problems, and "finding money" is still the top priority of various urban investment platforms.
In the past, the city investment platform mainly obtained construction funds through bank loans and bond issuance, and the financing cost was relatively low. In fact, financial leasing is not popular. However, at present, local debt risks are gradually exposed and bank credit channels are blocked. "I am very grateful to find a leasing company that can pass the project and has the money to lend."
At the same time, the attitude of financial leasing is also changing. "The funds for financial leasing mainly come from banks. Even if some of them have their own funds, it is impossible to use them all on the city investment platform. " A person in charge of a financial leasing company in Shanghai said that the bank's credit constraint on the city investment platform has also been transmitted to the financial leasing industry, and the leasing company will choose the city investment platform, from the original county level to the municipal level or even the provincial level, and set indicators such as GDP.
"Since 20 17, the financing cost of urban investment platforms has been rising and the requirements have become more stringent." A person in charge of a trust company in East China said that according to different project ratings, the financing cost of the platform with the main rating AA and the debt rating AAA is relatively low, while the financing cost of other projects is relatively high. In some places, state-owned capital pursues high returns and ignores high risks. This kind of local city investment platform with high credit risk and high historical default rate has been blacklisted by the company.
The person in charge of the aforementioned financial leasing told the new financial reporter that the interest rate of urban investment projects mainly depends on the credit interest rate level given by banks to financial leasing. The loan interest rate of banks for financial leasing is usually between 4% and 6%, the state-owned financial leasing is between 6% and 8%, and the private financial leasing is above 7%. On this basis, the leasing company will increase the interest rate by at least 4% to 6% to balance the risks. At the same time, the farther to the remote areas in the west, the smaller the bargaining space and the higher the cost.
The reporter noted that the cost of financing through sale and leaseback of the city investment platform is higher than that of bank loans, bond issuance and trust. Specifically, the bank loan interest rate obtained by the city investment platform is around 7%, but the bank has greatly reduced the project loans invested in the city investment platform, and the working capital loans are limited; At present, the average issuance of urban investment bonds in coupon rate is around 6%, and in some areas it reaches 8%; The capital cost of trust loan is about 8%; The financing cost of financial leasing ranges from 8% to 12%, and the comprehensive cost of other financial leasing is generally above 10%, even reaching 14% to 16% in remote areas.
On the whole, the differentiation of urban investment platforms is obvious. On the one hand, there are fewer investors in remote areas such as southwest and northwest; On the other hand, urban investment platforms with strong financial strength such as Beishangguangshen and Shenzhen are still sought after, and regional projects with good economic conditions such as Pudong New Area in Shanghai and Chaoyang District in Beijing are also difficult for financial leasing companies to obtain.
Multi-channel credit enhancement
China's financial leasing started late, but it has developed rapidly since 2008 with an annual growth rate of over 80%. According to the statistics of China Leasing Alliance and Tianjin Binhai Financial Leasing Research Institute, by the end of 20 17, the total number of financial leasing enterprises in China (excluding single project companies, branches, SPV companies and companies acquired overseas) was about 9,090, with a year-on-year increase of 27.4%; The contract balance was about 6,060 billion yuan, up 65,438+03.7% year-on-year. As a typical industry of financing, financial leasing started with equipment leasing and direct leasing, and the advantages of combining industry with finance are obvious. However, with the intensification of competition in the industry, "credit-like" models such as sale and leaseback are prevalent. Under this model, financial leasing enterprises mainly earn interest spread income, not service and management income. According to the industry, enterprises in this mode have the risk of misappropriation after receiving funds, causing losses to both parties.
Respondents said that at present, the cooperation projects between financial leasing companies and urban investment platforms are almost all in the mode of sale and leaseback, and few are directly leased. Among them, urban investment projects financed by banks account for about 20% to 30% of its total business.
At present, most of the new funds raised by the city investment project are still used to repay the debts due. In fact, the biggest significance of the "marriage" financial leasing of urban investment platform is to reduce the debt ratio. The curve replaces some loans through financial leasing, obtains funds from banks, and alleviates the capital problem and debt risk of urban investment projects. However, urban investment projects generally have long cycle, large investment and slow return, so that there is an obvious maturity mismatch between capital income and expenditure, and liquidity is maintained by borrowing new and returning old; In addition, the city investment platform is generally attached to the government, and policy changes directly affect the default rate. These are the risks that financial leasing has to face.
"The city investment platform usually represents the government for market financing. In case of breach of contract, the corresponding leased property such as sewage pipe network, river course and greening cannot be disposed of and realized at all. It is also difficult to go through legal procedures and social exposure, which is time-consuming and laborious. The funds invested by leasing companies generally come from banks, and the repayment pressure persists. " According to Fang Zhiwei, general manager of Ruiyue Financial Leasing (Tianjin) Co., Ltd., in order to reduce risks, most urban investment projects handled by financial leasing have introduced guarantee mechanisms. When financing on a small platform, there must be a big platform as a guarantee, such as county-level platform financing+municipal platform as a guarantee, as well as credit enhancement measures such as equipment mortgage and land mortgage.
In February of this year, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance issued the Notice on Further Strengthening the Ability of Corporate Bonds to Serve the Real Economy and Strictly Preventing Local Debt Risks (known in the industry as "Document 194"), proposing that it is strictly forbidden for reporting enterprises to request or accept the requirements of local governments and their subordinate departments to provide guarantees or assume debt repayment responsibilities for their market-oriented financing activities in various names. This means that the government is no longer the only provider of urban investment projects, and the urban investment platform should establish a market-oriented investment return mechanism, so that "whoever borrows it will pay back at his own risk". According to industry analysis, after the publication of document 194, the financing of corporate bonds on urban investment platforms became more difficult, and the issuance interest rate rose. As an alternative channel, financial leasing is expected to become a "life-saving straw" for urban investment projects.