贝莱德支持将A股纳入MSCI基准指数

BlackRock has for the first time backed the inclusion of mainland Chinese shares in MSCI’s global indices, bolstering the index provider’s fourth attempt to have A-shares included in its benchmarks.

贝莱德(BlackRock)首次支持在MSCI明晟全球指数中纳入中国内地股票，从而对这家指数提供商将A股纳入基准指数的第四次尝试予以了支持。

China hosts the world’s second-largest stock market and the third-largest bond market, but fund managers have argued over whether, and how, to include mainland assets in global indices — a move that would force index tracking funds to invest onshore.

中国拥有全球第二大股市和第三大债市。然而，围绕是否要在全球指数中纳入中国内地资产（此举会迫使跟踪投资指数的基金投资于中国国内市场），各基金管理公司却争论不休。

An estimated $1.5tn follows MSCI’s flagship emerging markets stock index. Last month the index provider put forward a proposal for including A-shares that focused only on large-cap stocks available through the Stock Connect system, which allows international investors to trade stocks in Shanghai and Shenzhen through Hong Kong without having to register onshore.

目前，跟踪投资MSCI最主要的新兴市场股指的资金规模估计为1.5万亿美元。上个月，这家指数供应商曾提出一种纳入A股股票的方案，该方案只关注经由股票市场交易互联互通(Stock Connect)系统提供的大盘股。这种互联互通系统令国际投资者能通过香港交易沪市和深市股票，而不必在中国内地登记。

The proposal was MSCI’s fourth in as many years.

该提案是MSCI多年来提出的第四个类似方案。

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, avoided specifically backing the current proposal but said: “BlackRock is supportive of China A-share inclusion in global indices.”

贝莱德是全球最大的资产管理公司，该公司并未具体支持目前的方案，不过该公司表示：“贝莱德支持将中国A股纳入全球指数。”

BlackRock’s support, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, marks a potential shift in industry sentiment because the fund has been widely thought by industry insiders to have resisted MSCI’s suggestions up to this point.

贝莱德的支持表态最先由《华尔街日报》(WSJ)报道，它标志着业内的态度可能发生了转变，原因是业内人士一直普遍认为，该基金在这次表态之前对MSCI的建议持抵制态度。

BlackRock said: “We have over a decade’s experience managing A-share investments for our clients and multiple ways to provide these exposures, including onshore Chinese investment quota and the capacity to use the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock connect programmes.”

贝莱德表示：“我们有逾十年的为客户管理A股投资的经验，还有多种途径提供这类敞口，其中包括在中国国内市场开展投资的配额，以及使用沪港通和深港通的能力。”

Chinese stocks listed outside the mainland make up 27 per cent of the MSCI’s EM benchmark, but international investment in onshore stocks and bonds still amount to less than 2 per cent of either asset class.

在MSCI的新兴市场基准指数中，中国在内地以外股市上市的股票占了27%。不过，不论是股票还是债券，对中国国内股票和债券的国际投资占比依然不到2%。

How best to begin the long process of including the Chinese mainland in global indices has been hotly debated for years. FTSE Russell, MSCI’s biggest equity index rival, pioneered a “parallel universe” approach where it created a series of its benchmarks that included mainland shares alongside its existing China-free flagships.

多年来，对于如何最好地启动将中国内地股票纳入全球股指的漫长过程，一直处于激烈的争论之中。MSCI最大的股指对手富时罗素(FTSE Russell)曾率先采取了一种“平行宇宙”方式。在这种方式下，该公司除了现有的不含中国股票的旗舰指数，还打造了一系列包括中国内地股票的基准指数。

Bloomberg, the first of the big bond index providers to include China, adopted a similar approach earlier this year.

首个纳入中国债券的大型债券指数供应商彭博(Bloomberg)，在今年早些时候采取了类似方法。

Last year’s proposal by MSCI was shot down by fund managers’ concerns about China’s capital controls — which have since been tightened — regulatory extraterritoriality and some unique local market practices.

去年MSCI提出的方案未能通过，原因是基金管理公司担心中国的资金管制（自那以来中国的资金管制一直在收紧）、监管上的治外法权、以及部分独一无二的国内市场行为。

Analysts have said that the index group’s latest proposal, which is a dramatic slimming down from last year, has a greater than 50 per cent probability of getting through since using shares available via Stock Connect allows fund managers to skirt issues about China’s tight capital controls — a major reason cited by stakeholders in the index provider’s decision to hold off.

与去年相比，该集团这一最新方案大大缩水。分析师表示，新方案通过的可能性大于50%。因为，使用经由股市互联互通机制提供的股票，令基金管理公司能够绕开中国严密资金管制引发的问题，而这是这家指数供应商的股东提到的决定推迟纳入A股的主要原因。

The Stock Connect works as a closed loop, meaning that international fund managers would buy mainland shares through the Hong Kong Exchange using Hong Kong dollars, and would cash out in the same currency.

股市交易互联互通机制是一种闭环，这意味着国际基金管理公司会用港元通过港交所(Hong Kong Exchange)买入内地股票，并会用同样的货币将其卖出。

If A-shares make it through in June, the shares included would make up just under 0.5 per cent of the total index and would require about $10bn of investment. The initial flows are thought unlikely to move the market, particularly since inclusion by MSCI — to be decided in June — will only begin a year later.

如果今年6月A股被纳入，被纳入股票占整个指数的比重会只有不到0.5%，需要的投资或在100亿美元左右。最初的资金流动被认为不太可能改变市场动向，尤其是考虑到纳入MSCI指数虽然是在6月份决定，却只会在一年后启动。