Bank of China Ltd. is lending more than $250 million to refinance an office tower near Columbus Circle in Manhattan, according to people familiar with the matter, in the latest sign that cash-rich Chinese investors are funneling money into prime New York property.

　　据知情人士透露，中国银行股份有限公司将向美国曼哈顿哥伦布环路附近的一座写字楼提供逾2.5亿美元的再融资贷款，这是现金充裕的中国投资者投资纽约黄金地段房产的最新迹象。

　　The five-year loan on the newly remodeled office building, called 3 Columbus Circle, is a boost for a partnership between SL Green Realty Corp. and developer Joseph Moinian that owns the 26-story building. They made headlines recently when SL Green, New York's largest office building owner, rode in to save Mr. Moinian from losing 3 Columbus to another landlord, Related Co.'s Stephen Ross.

　　这座新改建的办公楼共26层，名为哥伦布环路3号(3 Columbus Circle)。曼哈顿商业地产投资信托基金SL Green Realty Corp.和拥有该办公楼的开发商莫因尼安(Joseph Moinian)之间存在合作伙伴关系，中行为这座大楼发放五年期贷款是对二者伙伴关系的一个良好宣传。SL Green Realty Corp.是纽约规模最大的写字楼业主，前不久在该公司的帮助下，莫因尼安的哥伦布环路3号才没有落入另一个房地产公司Related Co.掌门人罗斯(Stephen Ross)的手里，SL Green Realty Corp.与莫因尼安因此登上新闻头条。

　　The refinancing also is another big commercial real-estate loan made by Bank of China's New York branch, which has been aggressively pushing into New York and other U.S. markets in recent months. The loans underscore a broader overseas push by Chinese banks, which are being encouraged by Beijing to expand abroad to help diversify the country's enormous foreign-exchange reserves.

　　这笔融资贷款也是中国银行纽约分行提供的另一笔大规模商业地产贷款。近几个月来，该分行一直积极推进自己在纽约和美国其它市场中的参与力度。这笔贷款凸显出中资银行在进行更大范围的海外扩张。中国政府鼓励这些银行海外扩张，目的是在一定程度上让中国巨大的外汇储备实现多样化。

　　Bank of China underwrote the new loan on 3 Columbus Circle based on an estimated value of more than $500 million of the 700,000-square-foot property, the people with knowledge of the deal said. There is some risk associated with the 3 Columbus deal because the property is less than 30%-leased. But the loan is expected to include certain reserves and guarantees put up by the SL Green-led joint venture to make up for this, the people said.

　　 了解这笔交易的人说，中国银行同意向哥伦布环路3号提供贷款，其依据是这座建筑面积70万平方英尺(约合6.5万平方米)的大楼估值超过5亿美元。为这座大楼提供贷款具有一定的风险性，因为它的出租率不足30%。但这位人士说，为弥补这一点，预计这笔贷款将包含一定的储备金和由SL Green主导的合资企业所提供的相关抵押品。

　　The five-year loan will replace the $250 million 'bridge,' or short-term, mortgage held by Deutsche Bank AG and SL Green that is coming due, the people said.

　　该知情人士说，中行此次提供的五年期贷款将替代德意志银行(Deutsche Bank AG)和SL Green持有的2.5亿美元的“过渡贷款”，后者是一笔即将到期的短期抵押贷款。

　　Raymond Qiao, first vice president at Bank of China's New York branch, declined to comment, as did a spokesman for Mr. Moinian.

　　中国银行纽约分行第一副行长雷蒙德•乔(Raymond Qiao)拒绝置评，莫因尼安的发言人也拒绝置评。

　　The loan represents the latest chapter in the saga 3 Columbus Circle, formerly 1775 Broadway. Mr. Moinian, an Iranian immigrant who was very active in the boom years, spent about $100 million to upgrade it, including a new glass skin for the building.

　　中行这笔贷款代表有着丰富经历的哥伦布环路3号揭开了最新篇章，以前这座大楼名为百老汇1775号(1775 Broadway)。莫因尼安是一位伊朗移民，在美国经济繁荣时期表现活跃，曾斥资约1亿美元对大楼进行装修，包括为大楼安装新的玻璃外立面。

　　Last summer, Mr. Ross, made a grab for the building by purchasing the $250 million debt on the property. Mr. Ross's plan was to foreclose on and demolish the office project and redevelop the property with luxury condominiums and Nordstrom as its anchor tenant.

　　去年夏季，罗斯通过购买2.5亿美元的大楼债务而成为了大楼的拥有者之一。罗斯的计划原本是取消这座大楼的抵押品赎回权并将其拆除，然后再把它重新开发为豪华公寓，并将美国零售商诺德斯特龙(Nordstrom)作为大楼的主要租户。

　　But Mr. Moinian blocked that in January by buying the mortgage back with help from another major New York City owner, SL Green.

　　不过，在纽约市另一个主要房地产所有者SL Green的支持下，莫因尼安今年1月回购了抵押的不动产，进而阻止了这一企图。

　　With job growth stronger in Manhattan than in other parts of the country, the vacancy rate in Midtown dropped to 8% in the first quarter of 2011 its lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2008, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

　　高纬物业(Cushman & Wakefield)的数据显示，曼哈顿的就业岗位增长比美国其他地区的势头要强，在这种情况下，2011年一季度曼哈顿中城的空置率降至8%，是2008年四季度以来的最低水平。

　　Foreign investors have long coveted New York property, some with more success than others. Japanese investors, for example, stumbled badly in the 1990s with their purchase of Rockefeller Center and their development of Americas Tower on Sixth Avenue.

　　外国投资者一直对纽约的房地产青睐有加，有些人收获的多些，有些人收获的少些。举例来讲，上世纪90年代日本投资者在买下洛克菲勒中心(Rockefeller Center)和开发位于第六大道的美洲大厦（Americas Tower）上受到沉重打击。

　　Chinese banks so far appear to be relatively conservative in their approach to real-estate investment. Lenders have tried to limit their risks by financing buildings with stable existing cash flows and lending to developers and investors with a solid track record. They generally are offering to lend no more than 65% of a property's value. During the property frenzy, U.S. banks had lent more than 80% of a building's value.

　　目前为止，中资银行在房地产投资方面看来相对保守。银行一直努力降低风险，通常只为现金流稳定的房地产项目融资，或为投资纪录的开发商和投资者提供贷款。它们提供的贷款一般不超过总房价的65%。在楼市火爆时期，美国银行业提供的贷款曾达到总房价的80%以上。

　　Late last year, Bank of China made an $800 million loan to Brookfield Office Properties to refinance the office building at 245 Park Ave., near Grand Central Terminal. That loan was the biggest on a single building provided by a single lender during the economic downturn.

　　 去年底，中国银行向Brookfield Office Properties提供8亿美元贷款，以为这座位于公园大道(Park Ave.) 245号、靠近纽约中央车站(Grand Central Terminal)的写字楼提供再融资。这笔贷款是经济衰退期间一家银行向一座大楼提供的最大一笔贷款。

　　In June, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, that country's largest bank by assets, closed its first commercial-property loan in the U.S. by lending $150 million to help refinance a 27-story office-and-retail tower in midtown Manhattan, called 650 Madison Avenue. The ICBC financing was part of a $355 million loan led by Wells Fargo & Co. to a partnership led by private-equity firm Carlyle Group.

　　去年6月，工商银行完成了在美国的首笔商业房地产贷款，提供1.50亿美元帮助曼哈顿中城27层的商业办公综合大楼麦迪逊大道650号(650 Madison Avenue)再融资。工商银行提供的贷款是由富国银行(Wells Fargo & Co.)牵头发放的3.55亿美元贷款的一部分，贷款方是由私募股权公司凯雷集团(Carlyle Group)牵头的一个合伙企业。工商银行是中国资产规模最大的银行。

　　Bank of China and ICBC, which are both 70%-owned by the Chinese government, have been betting that property values in the U.S. have fallen enough that their lending risks will be limited. They are particularly fond of the New York market because of the relatively healthy demand for office space in times both good and bad.

　　中国银行和工商银行均由中国政府持股70%。两家银行一直押注美国的房价已经跌到一定程度，足以使它们只面临有限的放贷风险。它们尤其看好纽约市场，因为无论经济景气与否，纽约的写字楼需求都相对旺盛。