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UPDATED: January 18, 2008 NO.4 JAN.24, 2008
保险财团入股京沪高速铁路
Insurance Giants Join In
Opinions differ over the wisdom of insurance companies that have invested in the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway program
By TAN WEI
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作为持有大额、长期资金的重要机构投资者,保险机构入股京沪高速铁路投资项目将为保险资金带来稳定的收益。

历经十余年的漫长等待之后,京沪高速铁路终于确定在2008年初开工,预计2010年投入运营。京沪高速铁路是中国铁路规划投资规模最大、技术含量最高的一项工程,建成后也将是中国第一条具有世界先进水平的高速铁路。

这个总长1318公里的交通工程预算资金为2200亿元。2007年12月27日,为京沪高速铁路筹集建设资金的京沪高速铁路股份有限公司正式创立,注册资本为1100亿元。与此同时,这个中国最先进的高速铁路的股东们也都陆续浮出了水面。

作为铁道部出资人的中国铁路建设投资公司和从去年开始与铁道部谈判的全国社会保障基金理事会,都顺利进入京沪高铁项目。其中,中国铁路建设投资公司拥有52%的股份,成为高铁项目的第一大股东。

而包括国家开发银行、建设银行、中国银行、工商银行等在内的各大银行此前都曾与铁道部表示过投资京沪高铁的意向,但在最终的名单中,银行系踪迹全无。

令人关注的是中国平安保险(集团)股份有限公司,中国平安旗下平安资产管理公司受托出任资金受托管理人,牵头保险团队组成保险投资计划,集体出资约计160亿元,占京沪高速铁路股份有限公司总股份的13.93%,成为高铁项目第二大股东,也被普遍认为是目前最大的受益者。此次参与发起入股京沪高速铁路计划的保险财团成员还包括太平洋保险、泰康人寿、太平人寿、中国财险、中再集团和中意人寿六家保险公司。

这是中国保险企业首次联合投资大型基础设施项目,对于中国高达2万多亿元的庞大的保险资金来说,投资领域的限制一直是这些公司颇感掣肘之处,而成功投资京沪高铁则是一个重大突破。

突破投资瓶颈

在此次入股京沪高铁的投资方中,保险财团是其中唯一没有官方背景的。平安保险常务副总经理孙建一表示,入股京沪高速铁路投资项目,是保险资金拓宽基础设施领域投资的一个新的尝试,将为保险资金带来长期稳定的收益。但孙建一强调,此次“保险”资金入股,离不开保监会的大力支持。

早在2006年中国保监会就开始推动保险行业投资京沪高速铁路项目。2006年7月中国保监会主席吴定富就曾表示:“铁道部已决定向保险资金定向募集800亿元先期项目资金,投资于北京至上海的铁路线改造工程。”

而此举目的是为了落实国务院提出的提高保险资金在资本市场上的投资比例。早在2006年3月,中国保监会就正式颁布了《保险资金间接投资基础设施项目试点管理办法》,鼓励保险资金投资基础设施项目。

2006年,中国平安成为国务院首次批复的120亿元基础设施项目投资的牵头试点公司。这120亿元中,作为牵头方的平安保险将获得100亿元额度,其余20亿元则为中国人寿、中国人保和泰康三家分享。

不过,这120亿投资额度并不是单一项目,而是包括高速公路以及公用事业如水务、电网以及不动产等一揽子项目。保险资金获得诸如收费项目的经营权,但并不参与项目本身的建设施工,这些项目包括上海世博会、公路、上海地铁,还有机场项目等。

2006年7月,保险资金间接投资基础设施第一单花落山西高速,其直接投资渠道是平安集团公司旗下的信托公司。此后,中国平安还通过旗下平安信托陆续开展了收费公路、铁路、城市水务以及电力等多领域基础设施项目投资业务,包括山西高速公路、湖北荆东高速公路、柳州自来水项目等。

在2007年全国铁路工作会议上,铁道部部长刘志军公开表示,2007年铁路建设将重点推进融资改革,建立由铁道部统筹资金筹集和统贷统还的机制,力争将保险资金投入铁路建设,国务院原则上同意400亿元保险资金投入铁路建设。这无疑是给保险公司投资基础建设大开绿灯,而以平安保险为首的保险财团力挫银行系在京沪高速铁路项目上中标也在情理之中。

理想的投资

投资160亿之后,保险财团并不打算就此停步。孙建一表示,京沪高铁将采用“股权融资”“债权融资”两种形式引进战略投资者。在债权投资方面,泰康资产管理公司已于2007年受托发行京沪高铁3年期债券,另外12家保险公司共认购100亿铁路债券。据中国保监会有关人士透露,此次保险企业集体出资的160亿元只是起始资金。今后,随着工程进展的资金需求,并不排除额度还会再做调整。

京沪高速铁路项目如此吸引投资者,自然是因为高额又稳定的回报率。刘志军认为,京沪高铁建成后的综合年收益率可能达到8%-12%。

他的理由是,京沪高铁建成后,与现有京沪铁路将实行客货分流,前者为客运专线,后者是货运专线。届时,北京至上海高速列车年输送旅客单方向可达8000余万人次,是目前京沪线年运力3500多万人次的两倍以上。而据新华社报道称,设计时速350公里、初期运营时速300公里的京沪高铁,纵贯北京、天津、上海三大直辖市以及河北、山东、安徽、江苏四省,并连接环渤海和长江三角洲两大地区。这两大地区是中国经济发展最活跃的地区,也是中国客货运输最繁忙、增长潜力巨大的交通走廊。

但中国最大的保险公司中国人寿并不这样认为。2007年11月上旬,保监会资金运用部召集数家保险机构召开会议,对保险资金投资京沪高速铁路展开了讨论,明确了参与京沪高铁投资的保险机构由最初中国人寿、中国平安、人保、泰康四家资产管理公司组成的论证小组,增加到八家保险资产管理公司和一家合资寿险公司--中意人寿。

但是,最终在京沪高速铁路股份有限公司发起人和公司章程签字大会亮相的却是太平洋保险、泰康人寿和太平人寿;参与认购方包括中国财险、中再集团、中意人寿三家保险公司,包括平安资产管理公司等七家险企,但却不见中国人寿的身影。

其实,中国人寿的临阵“缺席”,根本原因还在于其对京沪高铁的各种不确定性的盘算。新华社报道称,中国人寿内部人士透露说:“项目不确定因素很多,风险较大。我们毕竟是商业性保险公司,投资收益是第一位,当对其无法把握时,我们还是选择了退出。”

东方证券保险分析师王小罡也认为,经过考察,出于纯市场化考虑的保险公司表示京沪高铁的收益率达不到铁道部所言的8%-12%的水平。况且,保险公司倾向于采取债券加优先股或发行可转债等混合方式进行投资。

保监会副主席李克穆也提醒保险公司投资基础建设要谨慎,他说:“保险资金投资基础设施建设对于保险业来说是一件好事,但并不是容易的事情,对投资风险估计不足会造成大量资金流失。”

目前,投资商业地产并进行出租仍是保险资金比较看好的投资方式。比如保险资金同一些知名大卖场合作,购买后者指定的商业地产,并签订15-20年的长期租赁合约,可以获得长期稳定的租金回报以及项目增值收益,通过资产账面价值的重新评估,年投资回报率甚至可以达到30%。

 

After more than 10 years of careful examination and research, construction of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway will start soon. The line, which is expected to begin operation in 2010, will be built with the most advanced technology and the highest single investment in China's railway building history.

The budget for the 1,318-km track is about 220 billion yuan ($30 billion). On December 27, 2007, the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway Co. Ltd. was officially set up to raise funds for the project, with a registered capital of 110 billion yuan ($15 billion).

China Railway Investment Corp. (CRIC), representing the Ministry of Railways, holds 52 percent of shares of the high-speed railway company and is the biggest shareholder. The National Council for Social Security Fund is also one of the major shareholders.

Chinese banks, including China Development Bank, China Construction Bank, Bank of China, and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, had all shown interest in the project, but none of them was invited to become its shareholder.

Ping An Asset Management Co., an investment fund made up of assets from a variety of insurance companies, will invest 16 billion yuan ($2.2 billion), or 13.93 percent of the project's cost. It is the second biggest shareholder in the project and is also considered the biggest beneficiary of the project. Participating insurers in the fund include China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co. Ltd., Taikang Life, Taiping Life, the People's Insurance Co. of China (PICC) Property and Casualty Co. Ltd., China Reinsurance (Group) Co., and General China Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

This is the first time that Chinese insurance companies have cooperated to invest in a large-scale infrastructure project

New experiment

Among the shareholders in the project, the insurance consortium is the only investor without a government background. Sun Jianyi, Vice General Manager of Ping An of China, stated the insurance fund's participation in the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway is a new experiment and will bring insurance companies long-term and stable profits. Sun added that the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) had contributed a lot to forming the insurance partnership.

As early as in 2006, CIRC lobbied hard for insurers' participation in the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway. In July that year, CIRC Chairman Wu Dingfu said, "The Ministry of Commerce has agreed to raise 80 billion yuan ($11 billion) from the insurance fund, which will be invested in reconstructing the Beijing-Shanghai Railway."

The ministry's decision was in line with the State Council's direction to raise the proportion of insurance funds in the capital market. In March 2006 CIRC officially launched a trial regulation guiding insurance funds to indirectly invest in infrastructure.

In 2006, Ping An became the leading company in the first batch of 12 billion yuan ($1.65 billion) of infrastructure projects that included funding the building of expressways and public utilities like water and power grids. Ping An invested 10 billion yuan and the other 2 billion yuan ($0.28 billion) worth of projects were shared by China Life, PICC and Taikang Life. The projects included 2010 Shanghai Expo, expressways, Shanghai subway and airport.

In July 2006, the first indirect insurance fund invested infrastructure project was the Shanxi expressway. It was funded by China Ping An Trust & Investment Co. Ltd. (Ping An Trust) under Ping An. Ping An Trust also invested in many other infrastructure projects including the Jingdong Expressway in Hubei Province, and a tap water project in Liuzhou in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

At the 2007 national railway work conference, Liu Zhijun, Minister of Railways, stated that railway construction in 2007 would use new financing channels, including insurance funds. The State Council agreed that insurance companies could invest 40 billion yuan ($5.5 billion) in railway construction. Those agreements laid a solid foundation for insurers to invest in infrastructure projects.

Strategic investors

Following its initial 16 billion yuan ($2.2 billion) investment, the insurance consortium has no intention to stop. Sun stated that the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway will introduce strategic investors through equity financing and debt financing. In terms of debt financing, Taikang Asset Management Co. was entrusted to sell three-year bonds of the high-speed railway in 2007. The other 12 insurance companies bought 10 billion yuan ($1.37 billion) in railway bonds. CIRC officials said the 16 billion yuan ($2.2 billion) was just starting capital. As the railway construction continues, it will be possible to readjust the amount of investment.

The high and stable return of investment of the railway project is the biggest attraction for investors. Liu believes the average annual yield could reach 8-12 percent.

Liu explained that after the high-speed railway is completed, it will serve to transport passengers only, while the current Beijing-Shanghai Railway will be mainly used for cargo transportation. At that time, the annual passenger transportation capability of the high-speed railway is expected to reach 80 million, twice the current 35 million.

Xinhua News Agency reported the planned speed of trains on the line is 350 km per hour. The railway will connect the three municipalities of Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai, as well as Hebei, Shandong, Anhui and Jiangsu provinces. It will also connect the Bohai Sea economic circle and the Yangtze River delta, which are two most vibrant economic regions and the busiest cargo and passenger transportation hubs in China.

Despite the apparent gains, China Life did not think it was a good idea to invest in the project. In early November last year, CIRC held a conference to discuss the possibility of investment, and China Life was one of the participants.

However, China Life did not show up to the signing ceremony of the agreement.

The absence of China Life showed its concern over the uncertainties of the high-speed railway. Xinhua quoted a China Life insider as saying, "There are many uncertainties and the risk is high. We are commercial insurance companies and investment return is our biggest concern." He said, as the company could not handle the risk, it chose to quit.

Wang Xiaogang, an insurance analyst from Orient Securities, contended after careful examination that some commercial insurance companies are worried about whether the yields could reach the expected 8-12 percent. They would rather invest in mixed ways like issuing convertible bonds.

Li Kemu, Vice Chairman of CIRC, also reminded insurers that they should be very cautious in investing in infrastructure. Li said, "It is a good thing, but not easy. Underestimation of investment risks could cause insurers huge losses."

Currently, investment in commercial real estate is relatively favorable for insurers. For instance, some insurance companies have cooperated with well-known shopping centers and bought designated commercial properties. They can sign a 15-20 year long-rent contract, thus gaining long-term investment revenue. Annual yields can reach as much as 30 percent.

 

 



 
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