Although the PPP model has only been developed in China in recent years, it has been widely used abroad. So what are the financing methods? What is the scope of application?
Is the PPP model public? Private? The abbreviation of Partnership, usually translated as? Public-private partnership? , refers to the cooperation between the government and private organizations to build urban infrastructure projects. Or in order to provide some public goods and services, form a partnership relationship with each other on the basis of the franchise agreement, and define the rights and obligations of both parties through signing a contract to ensure the smooth completion of the cooperation, and finally make the two parties achieve more favorable results than expected through separate actions.
(1) Industrial Investment Fund
Industrial investment funds, similar urban development funds and private equity investment funds are increasingly becoming the main force of PPP financing.
1. Classification: There are mainly several classification methods, such as industry industry funds (such as transportation industry funds) and regional industry funds (such as Luoyang urban development funds), parent funds and sub-funds, funds established by financial capital and local governments, funds established by financial capital and construction enterprises (or listed companies), and funds jointly established by three parties.
2. Investment and financing methods: there are mainly equity investment funds and creditor's rights investment funds. The parent fund indirectly invests in the project company through investment sub-funds, directly invests in the project company, the existing bond replacement fund and the new project investment fund, and the investment priority is intermediate and inferior.
3. Features: The general structure of industrial funds is a fund established by limited partnership subscription with government investment companies and financial capital at the ratio of 65,438+00%: 90%, with government investment companies as the second level and financial capital as the priority. Industrial funds are usually large in scale and have obvious leverage effect. For example, the government, as an inferior level, invested 65,438+00% in the industrial fund, and the industrial fund invested 65,438+00% in the total investment of PPP projects (registered capital+shareholder loans) in the project company, while the actual government only invested 65,438+0% in the project (usually, government platform companies will directly invest 65,438+0-5 in the project in order to realize the repurchase at maturity). In addition, because the priority investors of industrial funds are mostly banks, insurance companies and even policy banks, the capital cost is low, which can effectively reduce the cost of industrial funds and greatly help reduce the overall financing cost of PPP projects.
The industrial fund model can also solve the problem of ownership structure of PPP project companies, that is, neither government investors nor social capital of construction enterprises are willing to hold absolute shares in PPP project companies. As a third-party investor, industrial funds can reduce their respective shareholding ratios, so that neither government nor social capital holds shares. The industrial fund holding company can transfer the management right in the agreement, only be a financial investor, and not interfere with the management of the project company by the government and social capital. In addition, industrial funds can solve the problem that the proportion of single social capital investment is too large, that is, industrial funds and construction enterprises, as financial investors and engineering investors respectively, form a social capital consortium, which has a stronger competitive advantage than construction enterprises doing social capital alone.
4. Scope of application: Industrial funds generally have requirements for projects, the industry conforms to the national industrial policy, and the projects are included in key projects of provinces and cities. The financial strength of the government requires the general budget revenue to reach a certain level, and there are also some requirements for social capital. Due to different sources of funds, the cost of industrial capital varies greatly. For example, the cost of industrial funds funded by policy banks is very low, even as low as 1.5%? 3%; The capital cost from local commercial banks is as high as 8%.
(2) Issuing bonds
The bonds mentioned here are mainly corporate bonds underwritten by securities companies and approved by the Securities Regulatory Commission (or the Securities Industry Association), as well as corporate bonds approved by the National Development and Reform Commission. Short-term financing, medium-term financing and PPN (non-public directional financing tool) underwritten by banks and traded in the inter-bank bond market are excluded. Bond financing, especially since the beginning of 20 15, the loosening and expansion of corporate bonds, corporate bonds and special bonds have become the main tools for government financing.
1. Classification: there are mainly corporate bonds in NDRC system and corporate bonds in CSRC system; Non-public offering of public bonds and private placement bond; Traditional corporate bonds (relying on urban investment enterprises to issue bonds by themselves), and special bonds such as project income bonds (relying on project income to issue bonds), and so on.
2. Investment and financing methods: As a financing tool for PPP projects, bonds are mainly divided into two categories. One is corporate bonds and corporate bonds issued by government platform companies, that is, PPP project investors themselves. For PPP projects, the equity investment funds of government shareholders may come from such bond funds; The other is bonds issued to PPP project companies, usually project income bonds or special bonds.
3. Features: The biggest advantage of bond issuance is low financing cost: under normal circumstances, the annualized financing cost of entities rated above AA is between 5%-7% (public offering) or 7%-9% (private offering). With the downward interest rate, the cost is further reduced, and even the financing cost of some high-rated and powerful enterprises is 3%-4%. However, the opposite of coins is that the requirements for issuers are very high. The general requirement for public offering is AA or even AA+, and there are only a handful of enterprises that can reach AA or above in some areas, and it is required that there are enough assets to support the issuance of bonds (the amount of public offering bonds does not exceed 40% of net assets), and the scale of bond issuance is limited; Even if private debt can be issued, it is obviously not enough for many local governments' tens of billions of PPP projects.
4. Scope of application: Like the investment model, there are two types of bond issuance for PPP project financing, one is to issue bonds to government platform companies, and the other is to issue project income bonds or special bonds to project companies. Under the premise that the amount of bonds issued by government platform companies is basically saturated, project income bonds and special bonds are a good breakthrough for PPP financing, especially those issued by CSRC 20 15 and 1? New corporate bond method? On April 20 15, the national development and reform commission issued four special bonds for strategic emerging industries, parking lots, underground common ditches and pension industries, which were issued in July? Project income and debt? , 65438+ launched in February? Green bonds? After the introduction of special bond management measures, there is huge room for the development of corporate bonds and special corporate bonds. Special bonds have several advantages: first, the issuer can be a project company and does not occupy the quota of traditional issuers such as platform companies; Second, it is not limited by the bond issuance index, and the bond issuance scale can reach 70% of the total investment of the project? 80% (the issuance scale of non-special bonds does not exceed 60% of the total investment of the project); Third, according to? Accelerate the simplification of audit categories? Bond audit procedures to improve audit efficiency; Fourth, there are various financial subsidies and financial interest subsidies, investment and loan linkage and other support. Due to the general lack of credit-enhancing subjects in PPP project financing, project income bonds and special bonds supported by cash flow only need to rate debts, and cannot occupy government financial credit and social capital credit (some need government issuers above AA level to provide guarantees), and this kind of financing business has just been launched, which will surely become a new blue ocean for PPP project financing!
(3) Banks
Banks are the main force to participate in PPP project financing, mainly through debt financing methods such as fixed asset loans, and equity financing methods such as issuing subscription funds for off-balance sheet wealth management products or asset management plan shares. Of course, short-term financing, bid winning, PPN and other direct financing are also the business scope of banks, but they account for a relatively low proportion in PPP project financing and will not be discussed.
1. Classification and investment and financing methods: There are two main ways for banks to participate in PPP project financing: one is to issue wealth management products, raise wealth management funds, and invest in PPP project equity or equity+creditor's rights by subscribing to private equity funds or asset management plans. This financing belongs to off-balance sheet financing and direct financing; Second, the bank gives credit to the project company through fixed asset loans, syndicated loans and other products. For the project company, it is debt financing, which belongs to on-balance-sheet financing and indirect financing.
2. Features: Of course, the characteristics of bank financing are low capital cost and large scale. However, there are several shortcomings in bank financial management: first, the risk control is strict, the credit conditions are high, the main credit (generally the internal rating of the bank) is required to meet the requirements, and the credit enhancement guarantee measures meet the requirements. Off-balance-sheet financing funds are now usually incorporated into the unified credit system of banks, and the credit conditions are the same as those of on-balance-sheet funds; Second, the investment in PPP projects is large, and a single bank is unwilling to form a syndicate with other banks based on the risk control of customer concentration, which usually increases the time cost and communication of financing promotion. Third, the loan funds on the balance sheet are affected? Three methods and one guide? Limit, only? Real loan and real payment? (How much to pay, how much to borrow, the loan funds can't stay in the account of the project company for a long time), which is very inconvenient for the project company to use; Fourth, the problem of regional division of banking business is serious. If the credit subject operates across regions, or the project runs across provinces, the banks in the two places need to cooperate to provide credit for customers or projects, which invisibly reduces the financing efficiency.
Despite all kinds of inconveniences, because the scale of banks plays an important role in China's financial system, and because the cost of bank funds is low (although the cost of insurance funds is also low, insurance companies have higher requirements for foreign investment, which has not formed a climate), it is the largest source of funds for government financing and PPP project financing.
3. Scope of application: bank wealth management funds can be applied to the priority of industrial funds and private equity funds (some banks can also agree to subscribe for the intermediate level), the priority of equity investment in a single project, and the debt financing part of the project; Bank loan funds are only applicable to the debt financing part of the project investment. Banks' participation in PPP financing generally requires certain conditions for the financial strength of the government, the strength of the shareholders of the project company, the project itself, especially the creditor's rights funds. Second source of repayment? That is, the mortgage or guarantee of shareholders or guarantee companies. The capital cost of banks participating in PPP projects is generally not high. On-balance-sheet loan funds usually fluctuate from 10% to 30% (calculated by interest rate over five years, it is between 4.5% and 6.5%), and off-balance-sheet wealth management funds are usually between 5.5% and 7.5%.
(4) Asset management plan
Asset management plans usually include brokerage asset management, fund asset management, insurance asset management, trust plan, etc. In fact, the asset management plan is usually a channel for banks and insurance funds to participate in PPP, which is passive management. The real active asset management plan generally does not participate in PPP projects, but participates in the first-and-a-half (private placement) market or the secondary securities market. Here is a brief introduction to insurance asset management and trust plan.
Insurance asset management is the manifestation of insurance funds investing in PPP projects with the help of asset management plan. Since 20 10, the CIRC has gradually liberalized the restrictions on the investment of insurance funds in real estate, equity, financial products, infrastructure claims, collective trust plans, asset-backed plans and private equity funds. In addition to investing in infrastructure creditor's rights, insurance companies can also directly invest in the equity of enterprises such as energy, resources, pension, medical care, automobile service, modern agriculture, new trade circulation, public rental housing or low-rent housing, and many of them are like this. Because insurance funds have the characteristics of low cost, large scale and long term, it conforms to the characteristics of PPP projects. Therefore, there is a huge prospect for insurance funds to participate in PPP project financing. On the other hand, insurance funds have high requirements for projects and investment and financing subjects, and only high-quality projects can enter insurance funds? Law eye? .
Trust plan since 2009? 4 trillion investment? Since then, it has become the main tool for government financing. However, due to the private placement characteristics of trust funds, the cost of raising funds does not include banks and insurance. Public offering institution? Under the background that the current government and PPP have extensive financing channels and low capital prices, the trust plan has gradually lost its former glory. At present, the participation of trust plan in PPP project financing is mainly passive management, that is, banks or insurance funds participate in PPP projects through trust plan. But trust companies are also actively transforming and? Laugh at yourself? , launch various innovative tools to participate in government financing and PPP projects to adapt to market changes, especially in PPP projects? Bridge financing? , local government? Bond swap? In other fields, we will continue to give full play to the advantages of its flexible model.
(5) Other financing instruments.
It mainly includes asset securitization, financial leasing, direct financing in the capital market (IPO or listing on the New Third Board) and merger and reorganization (exit by merger and acquisition). Because direct financing in the capital market and merger and reorganization are an option for PPP projects to withdraw in the later stage (the social capital withdrawal mode of PPP projects is mainly government repurchase), and most PPP projects are in the initial stage, so it is too early to withdraw, so it is not analyzed. Mainly analyze asset securitization, financial leasing and so on.
;