中国债券市场主要监管机构——银行间市场交易商协会（NAFMII）正采取新措施限制地方政府融资平台（LGFV）的债券发行。该协会本周通知部分银行承销商，若地方政府融资平台当前存续债券规模超过2023年3月31日的水平，则应暂停正在进行的债券销售并避免新的发行计划。此举是本月第二次针对该领域的监管收紧，旨在遏制过度举债融资。

这项政策对债务负担较重的地方政府融资平台影响尤为显著，因为它们将面临更少的再融资选择来偿还即将到期的债务。目前LGFV存续债券总额约为16万亿元人民币（约2.4万亿美元），其中约5万亿元将于2027年底前到期，约52.7%的债券在银行间市场挂牌交易。此前监管部门已要求LGFV避免发行短期债券，并限制企业赴海外以更高收益率融资。

尽管LGFV板块曾被视为亚洲最大的金融风险，但在中国要求银行和省级政府协助LGFV偿还2027年6月30日前到期的境内外债务后，其借贷成本已降至历史低位。与此同时，中国上月还敦促国内评级机构减少AAA最高评级的过度集中，要求评级公司重新审视其覆盖的发行人是否仍符合更新后的AAA评级标准，以改善信用风险评估体系。

China's major bond regulator, the National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors (NAFMII), is intensifying efforts to restrict bond issuances by local government financing vehicles (LGFVs). The regulator has instructed certain bankers that LGFVs whose outstanding notes exceed levels recorded as of March 31, 2023, must suspend current bond sales and refrain from launching new offerings. This represents the second regulatory tightening targeting the sector within the same month, aimed at curbing excessive debt financing.

The policy disproportionately affects highly indebted LGFVs by narrowing their refinancing options for maturing obligations. LGFVs collectively hold approximately 16 trillion yuan (US$2.4 trillion) in outstanding bonds, with roughly 5 trillion yuan due by the end of 2027 and about 52.7% of these notes listed on the interbank market. Regulators had previously moved to discourage LGFVs from issuing short-term bonds domestically and have also sought to limit offshore fundraising at elevated yields.

Although the LGFV sector was once identified as Asia's foremost financial risk, borrowing costs have since fallen to record lows after Beijing directed banks and provincial governments to assist LGFVs in repaying domestic and offshore debt maturing by June 30, 2027. In a parallel initiative to strengthen credit-risk assessment, China last month urged domestic rating agencies to reduce the heavy concentration of top-tier AAA ratings in the bond market, requiring firms to reassess whether covered issuers still meet updated AAA criteria.