China’s price wars hit investment banking as underwriters charge $100 fees
中国价格战波及投行业务 承销商收费低至 100 美元

China’s investment banks have slashed fees for bond issues to as low as $100 as price-sensitive state-owned issuers dominate a tepid credit market and stoke a race to the bottom to win mandates.
中国投行已将债券发行的承销费削减至低至 100 美元，因对价格敏感的国有发行主体主导了低迷的信贷市场，并引发了一场争夺承销资格的"逐底竞争"。

Bankers said the pressure to undercut rivals had become acute this year as state-owned enterprises — which often select underwriters based on deal experience and price — had become the most active bond issuers and private companies, which often issue high-yield debt, pulled back.
银行家们表示，今年压价竞争的压力变得尤为严峻。由于通常根据交易经验和价格选择承销商的国有企业成为最活跃的债券发行方，而常发行高收益债的民营企业则纷纷退场。

China’s bond market regulator, which has expressed concern about unsustainably low fees, this month said it would probe a Rmb35bn ($4.8bn) debt sale over suspicions that the issuer, China Guangfa Bank, pushed underwriters to bid low rates. Six underwriters charged a combined fee of 0.0002 per cent, with China Galaxy Securities and Industrial Bank winning their bids for just $98 each.
中国债券市场监管机构对不可持续的低收费现象表示担忧，本月宣布将调查一笔 350 亿元人民币（合 48 亿美元）债券发行的承销过程，怀疑发行方广发银行迫使承销商压低报价。六家承销商合计仅收取 0.0002%的承销费，其中国银河证券和兴业银行的中标价各自仅为 98 美元。

“What we’re seeing is genuine overcapacity in investment-grade bond underwriting,” said a Beijing-based banker at a state-owned securities group who asked not to be named. “The headline fee [pitched by banks] might look decent, but the final bid is a giveaway.”
"我们看到的是投资级债券承销领域真正的产能过剩，"一位不愿具名的国有证券集团驻北京银行家表示。"银行报出的名义费率可能看起来体面，但最终报价简直是在白送。"

“These ultra-low bids are all about winning mandates and staying in the game,” said a Shanghai-based banker who works on listings.
"这些超低报价纯粹是为了赢得业务资格，维持市场存在，"一位从事上市业务的上海银行家指出。

China Guangfa Bank, China Galaxy Securities and Industrial Bank did not respond to requests for comment.
广发银行、中国银河证券和兴业银行未回应置评请求。

The low bids show how China’s cut-throat price wars, which have affected sectors from electric vehicles to food delivery, have bled into investment banking. Authorities have condemned severe price competition, which threatens to fuel deflation in a slowing economy. President Xi Jinping last week warned against over-investment in artificial intelligence and EVs.
低价投标现象表明，中国从电动汽车到外卖等行业的价格战硝烟已蔓延至投行领域。监管机构已谴责这种可能加剧经济放缓时期通缩风险的恶性价格竞争。国家主席习近平上周就人工智能和电动汽车领域的过度投资发出警告。

Bond and equity issuance in China suffered a record low last year, affected by a sluggish economy, weak investor sentiment and tensions between Beijing and Washington. Although issuance has picked up this year, with bond deals up by more than half so far this year, according to LSEG data, and secondary listings in Hong Kong also higher, the flow has not been enough to meet demand for work.
受经济低迷、投资者情绪疲软以及中美关系紧张影响，中国去年债券和股票发行量跌至历史新低。尽管伦敦证券交易所集团数据显示今年发行量有所回升——债券交易量同比增长逾 50%，香港二次上市数量也有所增加——但资金流仍无法满足业务需求。

In the first half of the year, more than 140 mainland banks chased $1.1tn of bond deals. Government-owned groups accounted for just over half the issuers, and financial institutions made up 30 per cent.
今年上半年，140 多家内地银行竞逐 1.1 万亿美元的债券交易。国有企业占发行方比例略超半数，金融机构占比达 30%。

“Corporate credit demand is tepid due to a still challenging business and macro outlook,” said Zerlina Zeng, senior director and chief Asia credit strategist at CreditSights. “Many private companies and local government financing vehicles [which raise money for local government projects] are using cheaper bank loans to refinance and fund capex or working capital needs.”
"由于商业环境和宏观前景仍具挑战性，企业信贷需求疲软，"CreditSights 高级董事兼亚洲信贷策略主管曾子凌表示，"许多民营企业和地方政府融资平台正利用更便宜的银行贷款进行再融资，并为资本支出或营运资金需求提供资金。"

As a result, state-owned enterprises have dominated the bond market, leading to bids at or near zero as underwriters try to land deals and move up industry rankings, according to the Beijing-based banker.
据这位驻北京银行家透露，国有企业因此主导了债券市场，导致承销商为获取交易并提升行业排名而报出零费率或接近零费率的竞标价。

“When state-owned clients select underwriters, league table rankings [based on past deal size] over the past three years are a key metric,” said the banker. “If you’re not in the top 10 or even the top three, you’re unlikely to even get shortlisted in the bid.”
"国有客户选择承销商时，过去三年[基于交易规模的]排行榜名次是关键指标，"这位银行家表示，"如果进不了前十甚至前三，连竞标入围名单都很难进入。"

The price war has also engulfed the underwriting of initial public offerings. With listings in the mainland down 11 per cent year on year in the first half, Chinese banks have chased a surge of secondary floats in Hong Kong, putting the squeeze on western rivals.
价格战还蔓延至首次公开募股(IPO)承销领域。由于上半年内地上市数量同比下降 11%，中资银行纷纷转战香港二次上市热潮，对西方竞争对手形成挤压。

Citic Securities and CICC have overtaken Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley in terms of deal size on Hong Kong listings this year, helped by fees of less than 1 per cent, according to LSEG data.
伦敦证券交易所集团数据显示，得益于不足 1%的佣金费率，中信证券和中金公司今年在香港上市交易规模上已超越高盛和摩根士丹利。

Bankers involved in Hong Kong’s biggest flotation this year, the $5bn secondary listing of EV battery maker CATL, booked base fees of just 0.2 per cent, according to exchange filings. Some banks pitched rates as low as 0.01 per cent, the Financial Times previously reported.
根据交易所文件显示，参与今年香港最大规模 IPO（电动汽车电池制造商宁德时代 50 亿美元二次上市）的投行仅收取 0.2%的基础佣金。英国《金融时报》此前报道称，部分银行报价低至 0.01%。

Even with an extra 0.6 per cent in discretionary fees, the total payout was well below the average of 4.2 per cent for Hong Kong listings this year, according to Wind data. The five biggest Hong Kong floats this year, including Hengrui Pharmaceuticals and soy sauce maker Haitian, all carried base fees below 1 per cent.
即便加上 0.6%的浮动费用，这笔总承销费仍远低于万得数据显示的香港今年上市项目 4.2%的平均水平。今年香港五大 IPO 项目——包括恒瑞医药和酱油制造商海天味业——基础承销费率均低于 1%。

Market watchers remain sceptical that regulators can reverse the trend, especially since China’s securities watchdog has encouraged financial institutions to lower fees on retail products such as mutual funds, said Yiran Zhong, an analyst at S&P Global Ratings.
标普全球评级分析师钟怡然表示，市场观察人士对监管机构能否扭转这一趋势持怀疑态度，尤其在中国证券监管部门已鼓励金融机构降低公募基金等零售产品费率的情况下。

“Fee compression is a broad trend across securities firms’ business lines,” said Zhong, adding that banks could make up for losses in underwriting by selling other products.
"费用压缩是证券公司各业务条线的普遍趋势，"钟表示，并补充说银行可以通过销售其他产品来弥补承销业务的损失。

“Regulators have long warned about malicious lowball bids, but clients still welcome them,” said the Shanghai-based banker. “Even if there are penalties, they’re often symbolic, a fine of Rmb100,000 or Rmb200,000 at most. For underwriters, it barely matters.”
"监管机构早就警告过恶意低价竞标行为，但客户仍然对此表示欢迎，"这位驻上海的银行家表示。"即使有处罚，往往也是象征性的，最多罚款 10 万或 20 万元人民币。对承销商来说，这几乎无关紧要。"

Additional reporting by Haohsiang Ko in Hong Kong
香港记者 Haohsiang Ko 补充报道