中国公务员在一个负债累累的工业城市找到了一个独特的投资机会：向自己的地方政府雇主放贷，获得高达12%的“保证”年化回报率。
Since 2015 an online lending platform in Baotou, Inner Mongolia has raised about Rmb1.2bn ($187m) for government projects in the city of 2.9m people. About half of the platform’s clients are government officials, according to people familiar with the financing scheme.
自2015年起，内蒙古包头的一个网上贷款平台为这座290万人口城市的政府项目筹集了约12亿元人民币(合1.87亿美元)的资金。据熟悉这一融资机制的人士介绍，该平台大约一半客户是政府官员。
Privately owned NMG Dai, the Chinese abbreviation for Inner Mongolia Lending, raises funds for various government projects. The fund’s main borrower is one of Baotou’s six districts, Qingshan, which has used the cash for environment-related projects such as tree-planting and solar power generation.
私有的内蒙贷(NMG Dai，中文名称为“内蒙古贷款”的缩写)为各种政府项目融资。该基金的主要借款人是包头六个区之一的青山区，该区将这些资金用于植树和太阳能发电等环境相关项目。
Baotou’s finances were thrust into the national spotlight last year when a central government delegation ordered the city to halt work on a new Rmb30.5bn subway because of concerns about the city’s high debt levels.
去年，包头的财政状况引起全国关注，当时中央政府出于对当地高负债水平的担忧，下令该市停建一条耗资305亿元人民币的地铁线。
Local government finances and online lending platforms have been at the centre of a “regulatory windstorm” focused on cutting financial risks across the country.
地方政府财政和网上贷款平台一直处于旨在降低全国财务风险的一场“监管风暴”的核心。
Earlier this month, Inner Mongolia’s provincial government confirmed the suspension of the Baotou metro project, as well as three other subway projects in the provincial capital.
本月早些时候，内蒙古的省级政府证实了包头地铁项目以及省会的另外三个地铁项目被叫停。
According to NMG Dai’s marketing materials, repayments are guaranteed by the Qingshan district government, which has also given the fund free office space in a small building that also houses the district’s investment arm.
根据内蒙贷的营销资料，还款由青山区政府担保，该区还为这只基金提供免费办公空间，使其与该区的投资部门同处一栋小楼。
People familiar with Qingshan’s financing activities said the purported guarantee had convinced many Baotou civil servants that the platform — which typically promises returns of 7-12 per cent for short-term loans of a year or less — was a safe place to invest their money. The people asked not to be named because they were not authorised to speak about local government borrowing practices.
熟悉青山区融资活动的人士表示，所谓的担保说服很多包头公务员相信，该平台(一般对一年或以下的短期贷款承诺7%至12%的回报率)是一个安全的投资地点。相关人员要求匿名，因为他们没有获准谈论地方政府的借款行为。
The Baotou municipal government said NMG Dai was a “legal finance platform regulated by Qingshan district”. Qingshan and NMG Dai did not respond to requests for comment.
包头市政府表示，内蒙贷是“由青山区监管的一个合法金融平台”。青山区政府和内蒙贷均没有回应记者的置评请求。
Provincial government auditors and a Chinese credit rating agency have said Baotou’s official debt level, at Rmb82bn, was “relatively large”. According to Dagong Global, the rating agency, Baotou had an operating surplus of Rmb2bn in 2016.
省级政府审计师和中国一家信用评级机构表示，包头820亿元人民币的官方债务水平“相对较高”。评级机构大公国际(Dagong Global)的数据显示，2016年包头有20亿元人民币的营运盈余。
NMG Dai is one of a handful of self-described “P2G”, or peer-to-government funds, that have emerged in China over recent years to help cash-strapped local governments raise money.
内蒙贷是近年中国涌现出来的一些自称“P2G”(即个人对政府)的基金之一，意在帮助资金紧缺的地方政府筹集资金。
In its most recent budget report, Baotou revised its 2017 revenues down 49 per cent, in part because of previously “fake” additions. Earlier this month, Inner Mongolia officials admitted that provincial revenues and industrial output had been inflated 26 and 40 per cent respectively.
在最近的预算报告中，包头将2017年的财政收入下调了49%，部分原因在于之前存在虚高。本月早些时候，内蒙古官员承认，内蒙古财政收入和工业增加值分别存在26%和40%的水分。
