Guangxi plans to develop a civilized system: local governments do not assume debt repayment responsibility for state-owned enterprises. State owned enterprises are responsible for debt repayment
On June 5th, the official website of the Guangxi Development and Reform Commission released a notice stating that, in accordance with relevant laws and regulations such as the Government Investment Regulations, and in combination with the actual situation in Guangxi, the "Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Government Investment Management Measures" have been studied and formulated. It is now publicly soliciting opinions from the whole society. It is intended to clarify that no form of guarantee or commitment to repayment shall be provided for the financing of state-owned and state-controlled enterprises.
The Guangxi Development and Reform Commission stated that the "Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Government Investment Management Measures" aim to fully leverage the role of government investment, improve government investment efficiency, regulate government investment behavior, stimulate social investment vitality, and effectively use limited funds and resources to develop the economy and improve people's livelihoods.
The draft for soliciting opinions includes seven chapters, including general provisions, government investment decisions, annual plans for government investment, implementation of government investment projects, supervision and management, legal responsibilities, and supplementary provisions.
What does government investment refer to?
The public consultation draft mentioned that government investment refers to fixed assets investment construction activities within the administrative region of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region using the funds arranged in the financial budget, including new construction, expansion, reconstruction, technological transformation, etc. Foreign loans are managed according to government investment funds.
The draft for public consultation clearly states that government investment funds should be directed towards public sector projects such as social welfare services, public infrastructure, agriculture and rural areas, ecological environment protection, major scientific and technological progress, social management, and national security that cannot be effectively allocated by the market, with non operational projects as the main focus.
Local governments do not assume debt repayment responsibility for state-owned enterprises
Article 15 of the draft for public solicitation of opinions stipulates that the people's governments at all levels of the autonomous region shall not authorize or administratively entrust government investment projects that should be funded by fiscal budget funds and have no operational benefits to state-owned and state-owned holding enterprises for financing and construction, shall not illegally convert investment projects through state-owned and state-owned holding enterprises into government investment projects, shall not make investment decisions before state-owned and state-owned holding enterprise projects have completed investment compliance procedures, shall not borrow or indirectly finance through state-owned and state-owned holding enterprises, shall not provide any form of guarantee or promise repayment for financing of state-owned and state-owned holding enterprises, shall not entrust state-owned and state-owned holding enterprises to implement projects that have not implemented funding sources through proxy construction, and shall not establish new projects with government financing functions as the main focus. State owned and state-controlled enterprises are strictly prohibited from establishing new government financing platform companies, and strict measures are taken to prevent the addition of implicit government debt.
State owned and state-controlled enterprises shall follow the principle of prudence in their external investment and financing, strictly control their asset liability ratio, and shall not engage in excessive borrowing beyond reality. The confirmation of investment and financing plans shall strictly undergo project income coverage evaluation and demonstration. Projects where investment income cannot fully cover financing costs shall not be invested. Regular performance evaluations shall be conducted on the investment and financing benefits of state-owned and state-controlled enterprises. When borrowing for financing, it is necessary to proactively declare that they do not assume government financing functions, that the debt raised is corporate debt, and that local governments do not assume debt repayment responsibilities. State owned and state-owned holding enterprises should timely and reasonably formulate annual debt repayment plans for existing debts, implement repayment funding sources, and strictly prevent debt risks.
For projects financed and constructed by state-owned enterprises through market-oriented methods, if there is no follow-up funding guarantee and it is difficult to continue implementation due to decision-making errors, the principle of "whoever borrows the debt is responsible" should be followed, and the state-owned enterprises should be responsible for clearing and disposing of them on their own, and the government should not be responsible for repaying the debt.
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Regions with debt risk events are not allowed to start new government investment projects in the next year
In the draft for public consultation, Article 5 intends to stipulate that government investment should be in line with the level of economic and social development and fiscal revenue and expenditure in the local area. Strengthen the risk prevention and control of investment projects, organize and carry out financial tolerance and debt risk assessments as required, and effectively prevent debt risks in the field of government investment. Establish and improve relevant work mechanisms. For regions where the government debt ratio exceeds the warning line or debt risk events occur, it is necessary to reasonably control the intensity of government investment and strictly prevent government debt risks. Except for projects that are explicitly required by the state and autonomous regions to be constructed and emergency rescue and disaster relief projects, no new government investment projects shall be started in the next year. Projects that need to be started must be approved by the higher-level government.
The people's governments at all levels of the autonomous region should strengthen budget constraints on government investment funds, and shall not illegally or illegally borrow debts to raise government investment funds through various means. They shall not arrange project construction beyond the financial capacity of their respective levels, and it is strictly prohibited to start construction of projects without a confirmed source of funds. If government investment projects require government borrowing, they can only be borrowed within the local government debt limit by issuing local government bonds, and it is strictly prohibited to add implicit local government debt.
The people's governments at all levels in the autonomous region shall support the construction of projects through franchising, equity cooperation, and the establishment of government investment funds. In accordance with the principles of marketization and rule of law, profits and risks shall be reasonably distributed, and the government shall not promise fixed returns, minimum returns, bear principal losses, or repurchase; Except with the approval of the State Council for the use of loans from foreign governments or international financial organizations for loan transfer, no form of guarantee shall be provided for the financing of other projects, and no guarantee shall be provided for the debts formed by investment promotion projects.
The higher-level government and its departments should fully consider the financial and investment capacity of the lower level government in their work. Except for the responsibilities that the lower level government should bear with joint authority, they shall not indirectly increase the expenditure responsibility of the lower level government or transfer the expenditure responsibility to the lower level government.
Government investment projects shall not be funded by construction units for construction
Article 23 of the draft for public solicitation of opinions proposes that before the commencement of construction of government investment projects, the government investment decision-making procedures stipulated in these Measures shall be completed, and the construction conditions stipulated in relevant laws and regulations shall be met. It is strictly prohibited to "build before approval" or "build while approving". Government investment projects that do not meet the prescribed construction conditions or have not completed the preliminary design and other approval procedures shall not commence construction without authorization. It is strictly prohibited to design and construct projects simultaneously. Major government investment projects that require approval of commencement reports by the State Council and relevant national departments must go through the approval procedures for commencement reports in accordance with regulations before construction can commence.
Article 25: It is proposed to clarify that the construction funds required for government investment projects shall be ensured to be fully implemented in accordance with relevant national and autonomous region regulations, and shall not be advanced by construction units for construction. The settlement and payment of project progress payments shall not be refused or delayed on the grounds of incomplete completion of financial settlement review.
In addition, Article 31 proposes that the investment regulatory department and other departments responsible for supervising and managing government investment projects in accordance with the law should strengthen supervision and inspection of the implementation of government investment projects through on-site inspections, online monitoring, and other methods. If problems are found, they should be promptly urged to rectify and dealt with in accordance with regulations and laws. If Party members or supervisory objects are found to be suspected of violating discipline, violating their duties, or committing crimes, they shall be transferred to the disciplinary inspection and supervision organs in accordance with their management authority.
The relevant government investment fund supervisory units, financial supervisory departments, audit supervisory departments, and relevant industry supervisory departments should strengthen the supervision and management of government investment funds, ensure that the funds are used for specific purposes, and shall not be transferred, misappropriated, misappropriated, or intercepted.
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Article 37: If any of the following circumstances occur, it shall be ordered to make corrections, and the responsible leaders and directly responsible personnel shall be punished in accordance with the law:
Approval of government investment projects beyond approval authority;
Approve government investment projects that do not comply with regulations;
Failure to verify or adjust the investment estimate of government investment projects in accordance with regulations;
Arrange government investment funds such as investment subsidies and loan interest subsidies for projects that do not comply with regulations;
Using the influence of leadership positions to illegally interfere and influence government investment decisions, government investment fund arrangements, and government investment project implementation;
Other situations of dereliction of duty, abuse of power, and favoritism and fraud in fulfilling government investment management responsibilities.
If relevant units and individuals from all walks of life have opinions and suggestions, they can report to the Development and Reform Commission of the Autonomous Region via email or online collection during the announcement period. The email address is: gxfgwtzc@gxi.gov.cn . Announcement period: June 5th, 2023 to June 16th, 2023.