中國從嚴整頓互聯網金融 China cracks down on internet finance sector

China’s central bank is leading a wide-ranging clean-up of the country’s unruly internet finance sector, including a suspension on registering new companies with “finance” in their names, local media have reported.

據中國媒體報道，中國央行正在牽頭對國內不守規矩的互聯網金融行業進行一場大範圍整治，包括全國暫停註冊“金融”相關字樣的企業。

Internet finance has grown rapidly in China over the past two years, but this growth has also attracted fly-by-night operators and outright fraud.

過去兩年來，互聯網金融在中國快速發展壯大，但也出現了捲款潛逃的從業者和明目張膽的欺詐行爲。

Last week, multiple agencies led by the People’s Bank of China approved a plan for cleaning up internet finance, respected business news magazine Caixin reported on its website.

受人尊敬的財經媒體《財新網》在其網站上報道稱，上週，以中國人民銀行(PBoC)爲首的多個機構批准了一份整治互聯網金融的方案。

The multi-agency task force will undertake a one-year crackdown on fraud and risk in online payments, peer-to-peer lending, equity crowdfunding, wealth management and online insurance, Caixin said.

這個跨機構工作組將針對網上支付、P2P借貸、股權衆籌、理財和互聯網保險等領域的欺詐和風險進行爲期不到一年的整治。

Analysts have said increased regulation was likely to benefit larger players such as Ant Financial, the Alibaba Group affiliate, and Tencent Holdings by reducing competition from smaller rivals.

分析人士表示，加強監管很可能減少來自規模較小企業的競爭，從而有利於規模較大的企業，如阿里巴巴集團(Alibaba Group)旗下的螞蟻金服(Ant Financial)以及騰訊控股(Tencent Holdings)。

The latest plan instructs province-level agencies responsible for registering corporations — known as administrations for industry and commerce — not to approve new registrations of companies when the world “finance” appears in their name or business description, Caixin reported separately.

財新網另外報道稱，《互聯網金融風險專項整治工作實施方案》指示負責註冊公司的省級機關——工商系統——暫停登記註冊在名稱、經營範圍中含有金融相關字樣的企業。

P2P and crowdfunding are a particular focus of the clean-up, Caixin reported. The PBoC plan forbids P2P companies from fundraising for their own projects or guaranteeing loans.

據財新網報道，P2P和衆籌是這場整治的“重中之重”。《實施方案》禁止P2P公司“自融自保”，即爲自己的項目募集資金或擔保貸款。

It also calls for a crackdown on maturity mismatch in P2P lending and “fund pools” in which investor funds are not matched with specific loans but combined into a single pool.

它還要求打擊P2P借貸和資金池之間的期限錯配，即投資者的資金不是與具體貸款匹配，而是被組合成一個池。

Some P2P platforms have attracted customers by selling short-maturity investment products even when underlying loans are of longer maturity. Then they use sales of new products to fund payments due on maturing ones.

一些P2P平臺通過銷售期限較短的投資產品吸引客戶，即便基礎貸款的期限更長。然後他們利用新產品的銷售所得支付到期產品的應付款項。

The plan also calls for a crackdown on P2P loans used for mortgage downpayments, which have been blamed for the recent surge in property prices in major cities.

《實施方案》還要求整治用於購房首付的P2P貸款，這類首付貸被指加劇了最近大城市房價飆漲。

Some 3,984 P2P platforms had loans outstanding of Rmb504bn ($78bn) at the end of March, according to Online Lending House, a website that tracks the industry.

追蹤P2P貸款行業的網站網貸之家(Online Lending House)的數據顯示，截至3月底，大約3984個P2P平臺的未償還貸款總計達到5040億元人民幣（合780億美元）。

For equity crowdfunding, the plan targets platforms that exaggerate the current or potential profits of the investment project. It also forbids fundraising projects that are classified as equity but are effectively like debt because they promise a fixed payout.

對於股權衆籌，《實施方案》將重點打擊那些誇大投資項目當前或潛在利潤的平臺。它還禁止“明股實債變相集資”。

Crowdfunding and wealth management platforms are also barred from selling hedge fund-style investment products to retail investors who do not meet the qualifications for buying them through offline channels, or from packaging multiple such funds into synthetic products, the plan said.

《實施方案》稱，衆籌和理財平臺還被禁止向不具備線下購買資質的散戶銷售對衝基金式的投資產品，也不得將私募發行的各類金融產品通過打包、拆分等形式向公衆銷售。