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作者 標題 紐約時報：青島金屬欺詐案掀開中國金融黑暗一角 Banks Fear Missing Collateral in China
時間 2014年06月14日 Sat. AM 12:34:07
紐約時報報導網址：http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/06/...p;mabReward=relbias:s&_r=0
Banks Fear Missing Collateral in China
By PETER EAVIS and NEIL GOUGH
June 11, 2014 6:49 am
Updated, 8:45 p.m. | Large banks and trading firms are frantically trying to determine whether they have fallen victim to a suspected commodities fraud emanating from the giant Qingdao Port in northeast China.
Citigroup and several other big Western banks are concerned that their loans may lack the appropriate collateral of big stockpiles of copper and aluminum at the port. The banks have inspectors on the ground who are trying to assess whether enough of the metals are there.
The worry stems from suspicions that a Chinese company pledged the same collateral for multiple loans. Chinese authorities are investigating the matter.
The case could have broad repercussions for the commodities market and the Chinese economy. Banks have funneled billions of dollars into the Chinese economy through these murky transactions, and commodities prices have been falling over concerns that the lending will dry up.
Western banks, including Citigroup, are bracing for any potential fallout.
Just months ago, Citigroup fell victim to a multimillion-dollar fraud in Mexico. If the Qingdao developments hurt the bank, regulators and shareholders are likely to press it to explain why its controls failed again.
Chinese companies are at risk, too.
Citic Resources, part of the state-controlled conglomerate Citic Group, plunged nearly 10 percent on Tuesday after it disclosed that it might be affected by an investigation into stockpiles of metals held at the port. The shares recovered on Wednesday.
The potential fraud is linked to an opaque corner of China’s financial system that has grown substantially in recent years, bringing huge amounts of capital into the country. Many Chinese companies and investors, struggling to secure traditional loans from the state-dominated banking sector, have instead turned to alternative, unregulated financing methods involving imports of materials like copper, aluminum and iron ore.
These commodities financing deals are part of a growing number of nontraditional lending activities that have pushed credit in China to levels that are raising fears among investors and analysts. Jonathan Cornish, the head of North Asia bank ratings at Fitch Ratings, estimates that total outstanding credit in China rose to more than 220 percent of gross domestic product last year, up from 130 percent in 2008.
A typical commodities financing deal works like this: Copper is imported using letters of credit, warehoused in duty-free zones and pledged as collateral for cheap bank loans. The loan proceeds are used by the importer to speculate in higher-yielding, short-term investments. When the letter of credit comes due, the importer then either sells the commodity or the investment product.
One such importer in Qingdao has drawn particular scrutiny. Last Friday, Qingdao Port International, the biggest port operator in the Chinese city, announced that the authorities had begun investigating a suspected fraud related to the aluminum and copper stored in its warehouses. A day earlier, a report in The 21st Century Business Herald, a Chinese-language newspaper, identified the company under investigation as Decheng Mining.
The report said Decheng Mining was suspected by the authorities of having pledged the same stocks of the metals — about 100,000 tons of aluminum and 2,000 to 3,000 tons of copper — as collateral for multiple loans, amassing bank debt exceeding 1 billion renminbi ($160 million). Phone calls and emails to Decheng’s parent company, Dezheng Resources, went unanswered on Wednesday.
The figures in the Decheng case are not huge compared with China’s overall imports of commodities. But the concern is that such schemes may be broader, involving more than just one company at one port.
While Shanghai is China’s main port for the importing of metals like copper, volumes in Qingdao are substantial. Qingdao’s port ranks as the country’s fifth-largest in terms of cargo handled, with around 12 percent of China’s metal ore and 15 percent of crude oil shipments by volume, according to Qingdao Port International. But the trade there may not be regulated to the extent that it is in Shanghai, where the Shanghai Futures Exchange maintains its official copper warehouses.
Shares in Qingdao Port are down around 4 percent from their Hong Kong trading debut last week. The company has said that business is continuing as normal and the metal stockpiles subject to the investigation “account for an immaterial proportion of the total annual throughput of the group.”
The banks and trading companies have sent inspectors to the port to try to assess the size of the stockpiles. But the port operator was not giving them access until its own officials have done their inspection, according to a person briefed on the situation at the port who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
If wider fraud is unearthed, banks will probably have to scale back their commodities-related lending in China. That in turn could cause the prices of certain metals to drop and lead to a decline in credit in the Chinese economy. Goldman Sachs estimates that as much as $160 billion has flowed into China through commodities-backed loans since 2010.
As Citigroup assesses any damage, it is zeroing in on commodities loans to the Mercuria Energy Group, a Swiss commodities trading firm. Citigroup lent money to Mercuria secured with copper and aluminum apparently stored in Qingdao.
On May 28, Mercuria informed Citigroup that improprieties might have taken place at the metals warehouses, according to a person briefed on the loans who spoke on condition of anonymity. If Mercuria borrowed the money on the basis of nonexistent commodities, Citigroup could have the right to demand that Mercuria repay the loan. If Mercuria did that, Citigroup would probably not suffer a significant loss. Mercuria declined to comment.
“Citi is aware of reports of issues at the Qingdao port in China,” Danielle Romero-Apsilos, a Citigroup spokeswoman, said in an emailed statement. “To the extent Citi’s clients are affected, Citi will work closely with the relevant authorities, warehousing companies and clients to resolve the matter.”
The situation in Qingdao could have uncomfortable parallels for Citigroup.
Loan collateral was the underlying problem in the Mexican fraud involving a Citigroup subsidiary, Banamex. In that case, the bank discovered that as much as $400 million of assets pledged to Citigroup did not exist.
The bank also suffered a setback this year after it failed a crucial regulatory stress test. As a result, the government did not approve its plans to increase dividends and stock buybacks.
![[圖]](http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2014/03/28/business/dealbook/28citi-map/28citi-map-blog480.jpg)
If the bank were to lose money from its Chinese commodities loans, it would deepen concerns that Citigroup cannot properly monitor its sprawling operations across the globe.
Other large Western banks are active in the metals-backed lending in China, including Standard Chartered, BNP Paribas, Natixis and ABN Amro.
“We recognize that there are currently issues in China around commodity financing, which we are monitoring,” Tan Hsueh Mei, a spokeswoman for Standard Chartered, said in an emailed statement. “We are working closely with our clients. However, as investigations are ongoing, we are not able to comment further.”
Standard Bank, a South African lender, said in an announcement last Thursday that it had “commenced investigations into potential irregularities at the port” in Qingdao, and that it would “be working with the local authorities as part of its investigations.” The bank, which is 20 percent owned by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, said its commodities trading business was carried out by its London subsidiary, a unit that is 60 percent owned by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.
西方大銀行和貿易公司正瘋狂的試圖確定，是否他們已經成為青島港口涉嫌商品欺詐案的受害者。國家物資儲備局也擔憂遭遇損失。青島金屬融資欺詐案掀開了中國金融系統不透明的一個角落，可能導致中國經濟的信用下降。
花旗銀行準備應對損失
《紐約時報》6月11日報導說，花旗集團和幾家大的西方銀行擔憂，他們的貸款可能缺乏在青島港口大量銅和鋁組成的合適的抵押。這些銀行已經派出檢查員到港口，試圖評估是否有足夠的金屬在那裏。
這個擔憂源自於一家中國公司涉嫌用同一批抵押品申請多個貸款。中共當局正在調查這件事。
這個案件可能對大宗商品市場和中國經濟產生廣泛的影響。銀行已經通過這些晦暗不明的交易向中國經濟注入幾十億美元。由於人們擔憂借貸將乾涸，大宗商品價格已經在下跌。
西方銀行包括花旗集團，正準備應對任何可能的後果。
就在幾個月前，花旗集團成為數百萬美元墨西哥欺詐案的受害者。如果青島案件的進展損害這家銀行，監管機構和股東可能將逼它解釋，為甚麼它的控制機制再次失靈。
中國公司也處於風險。
中信資源是國營巨頭中信集團的一部份，在它披露它可能受到青島港口金屬融資案調查的影響之後，週二它的股票暴跌近10%。股票週三恢復。
中國金融系統不透明的角落
《紐約時報》報導說，潛在的欺詐跟中國金融系統近年大幅增長的一個不透明的角落相聯繫，它帶入巨大數量的資本到中國。許多難以從國家主導的銀行業獲得傳統貸款的中國公司和投資者，轉向使用不受監管的融資方式，它涉及進口金屬材料如銅，鋁和鐵礦石。
這些商品融資交易是日益興起的非傳統借貸活動的一部份，它們推動中國信貸達到引發投資者和分析家擔憂的程度。惠譽評級機構北亞銀行評級主管Jonathan Cornish估計，中國總的未償還信貸從2008年GDP的130%上升到去年超過GDP的220%。
一個典型的商品融資交易是這樣運作的：使用信用證進口銅，儲存在免稅區，並用作廉價銀行貸款的抵押品。貸款資金被進口商用來投機高回報短期投資。當信用證到期之後，進口商然後出售商品或投資產品。
青島欺詐案可能牽出更大範圍
《紐約時報》報導說，青島的這樣一個進口商已經引發特別審查。上週五，青島國際港口宣佈，當局開始調查一個跟儲存在它的倉庫的鋁和銅有關的涉嫌欺詐案。《21世紀經濟報導》確定了這個遭到調查的公司是德誠礦業公司。
報導說，德誠礦業公司被當局懷疑，將同一批金屬—大約有10萬噸鋁和二三千噸銅—作為多筆貸款的抵押品，積累了銀行債務逾10億元人民幣。
跟中國整體進口商品相比，德誠的數額不是特別巨大。但是人們的擔憂是，這樣的做法可能是更廣泛的，涉及更多公司。
根據知情人透露，銀行和貿易公司已經派出檢查員到港口，試圖評估存貨的規模。但是港口運營者不讓他們進入，直到他們自己的官員完成檢查。
中國經濟信用或下降
《紐約時報》報導說，如果更廣泛的欺詐被揭露，銀行將可能不得不縮減他們在中國的大宗商品相關貸款。這反過來可能造成某些金屬價格下跌並導致中國經濟的信用下降。高盛估計，自從2010年以來，高達1600億美元的資金通過商品抵押的貸款流入中國。
除了花旗銀行，其他活躍參與中國金屬抵押貸款的大型西方銀行包括渣打銀行，法國巴黎銀行，和荷蘭銀行。
「我們認識到目前在中國圍繞商品融資發生的事情，我們在監視。」渣打銀行發言人Tan Hsueh Mei說。「我們在密切跟我們的客戶合作。」
國家物資儲備局也擔憂遭遇損失
彭博社6月12日引述知情人披露，在青島港口金屬調查當中，負責儲存戰略商品的中國國家機構正在檢查，確保它購買的銅沒有遭遇抵押風險。
知情人說，今年三月和四月，國家物資儲備局（國儲局）從免稅倉儲區購買了至少20萬噸銅。
國儲局加入渣打銀行，花旗集團和標準銀行一起，在審查青島案潛在的後果。在這裡，公安局正調查金屬融資欺詐案。倫敦的銅期貨三天來首次下跌，因為擔憂調查將遏制對銅的需求。
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※ 作者: cliff465 時間: 2014-06-14 00:34:07
※ 看板: China 文章推薦值: 0 目前人氣: 0 累積人氣: 88
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