半月谈：部分城投公司不规范融资，谁在承担最后风险？

Core Viewpoint - The investigation reveals that some local investment companies are engaging in non-standard financing practices, which may lead to the transfer of risks to individual investors despite appearing to diversify risks [1] Group 1: Investment Practices - Local investment companies are attracting individual investors by offering high returns exceeding 8%, often implying government backing [1][2] - Many investors have invested their life savings or borrowed money to purchase these investment products, drawn by the promise of high returns [2] - The investment products are marketed with high returns and short investment periods, which contradicts the typical long-term nature of public infrastructure investments [3] Group 2: Risk Factors - The high yield and short duration of these investment products raise concerns about their sustainability and the underlying projects' profitability [3] - Some investment companies are using mutual guarantees among local state-owned platforms to alleviate investor concerns, which may not reflect the actual risk [3] - The involvement of small intermediaries in promoting these products can lead to misrepresentation of risks and exaggerated returns [3] Group 3: Regulatory Issues - The non-standard financing practices are partly due to regulatory blind spots in cross-regional supervision and inadequate risk disclosure by issuers [4] - There is a lack of awareness among investors regarding the risks associated with these products, leading to poor investment decisions [5] - The regulatory framework allows for the continuation of these practices until risks reach a certain threshold, which can lead to local protectionism complaints from issuers [4] Group 4: Recommendations for Improvement - Experts suggest enhancing risk management capabilities and establishing a long-term government debt management mechanism to prevent systemic risks [6] - There is a call for comprehensive reforms in the fiscal and performance evaluation systems to improve debt repayment capabilities [6][7] - Financial literacy programs are recommended to improve public understanding of investment risks and to ensure that investment companies adhere to strict compliance standards [7]