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China will impose a reserve requirement on offshore renminbi deposits, the central bank said on Monday, in an effort to soak up liquidity and raise the cost of speculating on renminbi depreciation.
中國央行周一表示，中國將對離岸人民幣存款征收存款準備金，此舉旨在吸納流動性并提高針對人民幣貶值的投機成本。
The move marks an escalation of efforts by the People’s Bank of China to discourage capital outflow and curb renminbi weakness in both the onshore and offshore markets.
此舉標志著中國央行加大了打擊資本外流并遏制在岸與離岸人民幣貶值的努力。
The spread between onshore and offshore renminbi widened to a record early this month before the PBoC intervened in the offshore — or CNH — market in Hong Kong to narrow the gap. The onshore renminbi has fallen 2.7 per cent against the dollar since December.
本月初，在中國央行干預香港離岸人民幣市場之前，人民幣在岸與離岸匯率之間的利差擴大到創紀錄水平。自今年12月以來，在岸人民幣兌美元匯率下跌2.7%。
The overnight CNH borrowing rate jumped to a record 67 per cent last week after the PBoC sold dollars from its foreign exchange reserves to buy renminbi, causing a liquidity squeeze in the CNH money market.
上周，離岸人民幣隔夜拆借利率躍升至創紀錄的67%，此前中國央行從外匯儲備中賣出美元，買入人民幣，導致離岸人民幣貨幣市場出現流動性緊縮。
The new reserve requirement will permanently raise CNH interest rates by forcing banks to set aside a portion of CNH deposits at the central bank, where the funds are not available for lending.
新的存款準備金政策將迫使銀行在央行留出一定比例的人民幣存款（這部分資金不能用于貸款），將永久性提高離岸人民幣利率。
“As depreciation pressures have intensified, the offshore market has become an important venue for short-selling the renminbi,” Huili Chang, analyst at China International Capital Corp, wrote on Monday. “This move will push up the cost of offshore renminbi financing and help to restrain speculation.”
“由于人民幣貶值壓力加劇，離岸市場已成為做空人民幣的一個重要場所，”中金(CICC)分析師周一寫道，“此舉將推升離岸人民幣的融資成本并有助于限制投機。”
Speculators have used CNH as a funding currency to execute a short-term carry trade in which they swap borrowed renminbi for dollars, then repay the loan the following day once CNH has weakened.
投機者一直利用離岸人民幣作為執行短期套利交易的融資貨幣，他們借入人民幣換成美元，然后在離岸人民幣貶值后的第二天償還這筆借款。
While the onshore renminbi market remains tightly controlled, the offshore CNH market has largely operated outside the reach of mainland authorities since its creation in 2010. China’s central bank can exert regulatory influence over the CNH market, however, through rules affecting the onshore correspondent banks that serve as links between the onshore and offshore markets.
盡管在岸人民幣市場仍受到嚴格控制，但自2010年創建以來，離岸人民幣市場基本上不受內地監管部門的控制。然而，中國央行可以通過影響針對離岸與在岸市場之間的境內代理行的規定，對人民幣離岸市場施加影響。
In recent weeks, the PBoC has intervened on the CNH by selling dollars in the open market, but the latest move broadens its use of administrative measures to influence the offshore market. The central bank previously suspended certain foreign-exchange transactions by onshore units of foreign banks that were helping clients arbitrage between the onshore and offshore renminbi exchange rates.
最近幾周，中國央行通過在公開市場上賣出美元，對人民幣離岸市場進行干預，但這一最新舉措擴大了利用行政舉措影響離岸市場的范圍。中國央行此前曾暫停外國銀行在華分支機構的一些外匯交易，這些銀行幫助客戶在在岸與離岸人民幣匯率之間套利。
The PBoC published rules in December 2014 allowing it to impose a required reserve ratio on correspondent banks, but the ratio had been set at zero.
2014年12月，中國央行發布規定，允許對代理行征收存款準備金，但存款準備金率暫定為零。
The central bank will enforce a “normal” reserve requirement on onshore banks that accept renminbi deposits from offshore banks from January 25, it said on Monday, without specifying a number. The current reserve requirement for onshore renminbi deposits is 17.5 per cent for large banks.
中國央行周一表示，將從1月25日起，對接受境外銀行人民幣存款的境內銀行“執行正常存款準備金率”政策，但沒有透露具體數額。目前大銀行的在岸人民幣存款的存款準備金率為17.5%。
The new reserve ratio creates a “counter-cyclical adjustment mechanism for cross-border renminbi liquidity”, the PBoC said, without mentioning the exchange rate.
中國央行表示，新的存款準備金率“建立了對跨境人民幣資金流動進行逆周期調節的長效機制”，央行沒有提及人民幣匯率。
