沙特擬在年底前發債270億美元
Saudi Arabia is returning to the bond market with a plan to raise $27bn by the end of the year, in the starkest sign yet of the strain lower oil prices are putting on the finances of the world’s largest oil exporter.
沙特阿拉伯正重返債券市場，計劃在今年年底前籌集270億美元。這是迄今最明確的跡象，表明油價下跌使全球最大石油出口國財政緊張。
Bankers say the kingdom’s central bank has been sounding out demand for an issuance of around 20bn Saudi riyals ($5.3bn) a month in bonds — in tranches of five, seven and ten years — for the rest of the year.
銀行家們表示，沙特近來在詢問需求，擬在今年餘下時間每月發行約200億沙特里亞爾（約合53億美元）債券，分爲五年期、七年期和十年期。
Fahad al-Mubarak, the governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (Sama), said in July that Riyadh had already issued its first $4bn in local bonds, the first sovereign issuance since 2007. But the latest plans represent a major expansion of that programme, which bankers believe could even extend into 2016, given the outlook for the oil price.
沙特阿拉伯貨幣局(SAMA)局長法赫德穆巴拉克(Fahad al-Mubarak)在7月表示，利雅得方面已經以地方債形式發行了第一筆40億美元債券，這是自2007年以來沙特政府首次發行主權債券。但沙特最新的發債計劃表明該計劃將大舉擴大，鑑於油價前景，銀行家們認爲發債甚至可能延續到2016年。
Saudi Arabia’s resort to further domestic borrowing highlights the challenges facing the region’s largest economy amid one of the steepest falls in the oil price in recent decades. Brent, the international benchmark, has dropped from $115 a barrel in June last year to around $50 this week.
沙特阿拉伯求助於進一步國內借貸，凸顯中東最大經濟體在近幾十年來油價最大幅度下跌期間面臨的挑戰。國際基準布倫特(Brent)原油價格已從去年6月每桶115美元，下降到本週的每桶50美元左右。
Oil’s decline accelerated last November when Opec, the producers’ cartel, decided not to cut output, a major departure from its traditional policy of trimming production to prop up prices. Saudi Arabia said it was an attempt to defend market share.
石油價格去年11月加速下跌，當時，石油生產國卡特爾——歐佩克(Opec)決定不減產，這嚴重背離了其傳統政策——爲支撐油價而減產。沙特表示，這是捍衛市場份額的一次嘗試。
But the decision to ride out a sustained period of lower prices has put a huge strain on the finances of major oil exporters, including Saudi Arabia, which requires an oil price of $105 a barrel to balance its budget.
但是，試圖挺過油價持續低迷的決定，對各大石油出口國造成了巨大的財政壓力，沙特本身也不例外，該國需要油價保持在每桶105美元才能平衡本國預算。
The kingdom has drained $65bn of its fiscal reserves to maintain government spending since the oil price plunge began. Sama has $672bn in foreign reserves, down from a peak of $737bn last August. The plan to resort to capital markets, if confirmed, demonstrates the priority Riyadh is placing on maintaining government spending, despite the pressure cheap oil is putting on its budget. The monthly bond issuance plan would only cover part of the deficit, which economists estimate will reach 400bn Saudi riyals this year amid falling revenues and continuing high expenditure on infrastructure projects, public sector wages and the war in Yemen.
自油價開始暴跌以來，沙特動用了650億美元財政儲備以維持政府開支。沙特貨幣局擁有6720億美元的外匯儲備，低於去年8月時7370億美元的峯值。這項求助資本市場的計劃（如果被證實）表明，利雅得優先考慮的是維持政府支出，儘管油價下跌對預算造成壓力。這項月度債券發行計劃只能填補部分赤字。經濟學家估計，由於財政收入減少、基礎設施項目持續的高支出、公共部門工資以及也門的戰爭，沙特今年的赤字將達到4000億沙特里亞爾。
“This is all about rebalancing away from the reserves — using some debt to help make up the budget deficit,” said one banker aware of the plan.
一名瞭解該計劃的銀行家稱：“這完全關乎再平衡——利用債務彌補一部分預算赤字，減少消耗外匯儲備。”
