Referring to financing guarantees for three consecutive months, the SASAC has drawn a red line for central enterprises: the total guarantee scale does not exceed 40% of the group's total assets.

Reporters Zhang Qi and Xu Yunqian reported from Beijing

From the dynamics of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council in the past three months, it can be seen that the control of financing guarantees for central enterprises is the top priority of the current work of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, and the risk prevention of central enterprises has been continuously mentioned.

IPG China chief economist Bai Wenxi told the "China Times" reporter: "Financing guarantees will trigger the risk of corporate compensation, and the risks related to those financial subsidiaries that use financial leverage will be magnified, so from the perspective of the SASAC, we should continue to strengthen the management of financing guarantees for central enterprises and strictly control the scale of financing guarantees to effectively prevent the risks of central enterprises." ”

"To effectively ensure the correctness of the financing guarantee management of central enterprises, on the one hand, it is necessary to clarify the rules, on the other hand, it is also necessary to effectively implement and strictly pursue responsibility." In addition, enterprises should strengthen internal financial audits of their controlled subsidiaries. Only by understanding the actual operating conditions of central enterprises and strictly implementing the relevant approval systems can we strengthen the compliance management of financing guarantees of central enterprises and ensure that the relevant management systems and business behaviors meet the requirements. Bo Wenxi said.

The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission pointed out at the meeting of responsible persons of central enterprises held recently: "It is necessary to resolutely and effectively prevent and resolve all kinds of risks, implement the main responsibility of enterprises to prevent risks, improve the risk prevention and control work system and working mechanism in the whole process and the whole chain, strictly and earnestly grasp all kinds of risk prevention, strictly control debt, investment, and financial risks, strictly prevent safety and environmental protection risks, strengthen the supervision of state-owned assets, strictly prevent the loss of state-owned assets, and firmly adhere to the bottom line of no major risks." ”

3 central enterprise financing within 3 months

On January 4, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council issued the relevant explanation of the Notice on Strengthening the Management of Financing Guarantees for Central Enterprises. Previously, in order to further strengthen the management of financing guarantees for central enterprises, prevent the risk of major capital losses, and promote the high-quality development of enterprises, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council issued the Notice on Strengthening the Management of Financing Guarantees of Central Enterprises (hereinafter referred to as the Notice). The Notice points out that on the basis of integrating the original guarantee provisions, in view of the outstanding problems found in daily supervision, the management requirements such as the scope, object and scale of financing guarantees have been clarified, so as to achieve the complete unification of the guarantee management provisions.

However, just 5 days before the issuance of this Notice, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council mentioned the issue of asset management of central enterprises.

On December 30, 2021, the SASAC issued the Guiding Opinions on Promoting the High-quality Development of Central Enterprises to Achieve Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality (hereinafter referred to as the Opinions), which provide guidance for central enterprises to invest in carbon reduction industries in the "double carbon" target for the new year. It is mentioned that central enterprises are encouraged to accelerate the establishment and improvement of carbon trading management mechanisms, strictly implement the relevant accounting treatment regulations for carbon emission trading, and strengthen the asset management of purchased carbon emission quotas. Support qualified enterprises to set up professional carbon trading management institutions, establish enterprise carbon trading management information systems, and strengthen carbon market analysis, carbon quota management, emission report preparation, carbon trading operations, etc.

Push forward another month. At the end of November 2020, the National Development and Reform Commission of the State Council clearly proposed that central enterprises are strictly prohibited from providing any form of guarantee to enterprises without equity relations outside the group, and require central enterprises to strictly control the scale of financing guarantees and the financing guarantee of excess shares, and strictly prevent the risk of substitution.

In terms of strictly restricting the objects of financing guarantees, it is proposed that central enterprises are strictly prohibited from providing any form of guarantee to enterprises that do not have equity relations outside the group; in principle, financing guarantees can only be provided to subsidiaries or shareholding enterprises that have the ability to continue to operate and repay debts; they must not provide guarantees to sub-enterprises or participating enterprises that do not have the ability to continue to operate, such as entering reorganization or bankruptcy liquidation procedures, becoming insolvent, losing money for three consecutive years or more, and negative operating net cash flow, etc., and must not provide guarantees to financial sub-enterprises. There is no mutual insurance between the subsidiaries in the Group that do not have a direct equity relationship, and if the above three situations do require the provision of guarantees due to objective circumstances and the risks are controllable, they shall be subject to the approval of the Board of Directors of the Group.

In three months, the State Council's Development and Reform Commission has targeted the issue of financing guarantees for central enterprises three times. What control upgrades have been made with the issuance of the Notice?

It is worth noting that the first two notices only restrict the financing of central enterprises and do not put forward clear standards. However, the Notice clearly states that the total guarantee scale of the central enterprise shall not exceed 40% of the group's consolidated net assets, and the guarantee amount of a single-family sub-enterprise (including the headquarters) shall not exceed 50% of the net assets of the enterprise.

In addition, in addition to clarifying the specific guarantee standards, the scope of control is also clarified.

On the one hand, the scale of the guarantee is strictly limited. Referring to the current average proportion of the guarantee scale of central enterprises in net assets and the regulations on the management of guarantees of listed companies, it is clarified that the total guarantee scale of central enterprises shall not exceed 40% of the group's consolidated net assets, and the amount of guarantees for single-family sub-enterprises (including the headquarters) shall not exceed 50% of the net assets of the enterprise; on the other hand, based on the principle of the same share and the principle of equal rights and risk control, the financing guarantee of the central enterprise shall be "two prohibitions and two controls": it is strictly forbidden to guarantee enterprises without equity relations outside the group, it is strictly forbidden to guarantee the over-share ratio of participating enterprises, and it is strictly forbidden to guarantee high-risk sub-enterprises. Strictly control the guarantee of the over-share ratio of sub-enterprises.

Strengthen risk prevention

The state has repeatedly focused on the financing guarantee of central enterprises, and the control has been continuously upgraded. What is the reason behind the state's continuous strengthening of the management of financing guarantees for central enterprises and strictly controlling the scale of financing guarantees?

Chao Chenglin, director of the Industrial Space Research Institute, pointed out to the "China Times" reporter that in the past two years, many enterprises in various places have been acquired, merged and controlled by central enterprises, and some of these new enterprises have formed a relatively close guarantee relationship with central enterprises in the process of operation and management, coupled with the frequent occurrence of financial problems in some large enterprises in a certain field recently, which has caused a greater impact. Therefore, the financing guarantee of central enterprises must be paid great attention to, and only when the risk control of central enterprises is strong enough, the situation of illegal guarantees will be effectively reduced.

Bai Wenxi told the "China Times" reporter: "Financing guarantees will trigger the risk of enterprise compensation, and the risks related to those financial subsidiaries that use financial leverage will be magnified by multiples, so from the perspective of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, we should continue to strengthen the management of financing guarantees for central enterprises and strictly control the scale of financing guarantees to effectively prevent the risks of central enterprises." ”

In view of how to ensure the effective progress of the financing guarantee work of central enterprises, Bai Wenxi also pointed out that in order to effectively ensure the correctness of the management of the financing guarantee of central enterprises, on the one hand, it is necessary to clarify the rules, on the other hand, it is also necessary to effectively implement and strictly pursue responsibility. In addition, enterprises should strengthen internal financial audits of their controlled subsidiaries. "Only by understanding the actual operating conditions of central enterprises and strictly implementing the relevant approval systems can we strengthen the compliance management of financing guarantees of central enterprises and ensure that the relevant management systems and business behaviors meet the requirements."

Recently, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council has also repeatedly emphasized the importance of risk prevention of central enterprises. The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council pointed out at the meeting of responsible persons of central enterprises held recently: "It is necessary to resolutely and effectively prevent and resolve all kinds of risks, implement the main responsibility of enterprises to prevent risks, improve the risk prevention and control work system and working mechanism in the whole process and the whole chain, strictly and earnestly grasp all kinds of risk prevention, strictly control debt, investment, and financial risks, strictly prevent safety and environmental protection risks, strengthen the supervision of state-owned assets, strictly prevent the loss of state-owned assets, and firmly adhere to the bottom line of no major risks." ”

Responsible Editor: Xu Yunqian Editor-in-Chief: Gong Peijia