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LAST August, after 14 years of debate, the Chinese government at last imposed what was informally referred to as its “economic constitution”, a broad anti-monopoly law for a country rife with state-imposed monopolies. In the subsequent months, people have wondered how the law would be applied, and whether it would advance China’s transformation into a market economy, or serve as an impediment to genuine competition. On Wednesday March 18th an answer emerged with the rejection of the largest outright acquisition by a foreign company, a $2.4 billion offer by Coca-Cola for China Huiyuan, the country’s largest juice company. |
经过14年的讨论，去年8月，中国政府最终实施了一部, 非正式场合被称为“经济宪法”的，涉及广泛的，《反垄断法》，而中国本身是一个到处充斥“国家强加”垄断的国家。在随后的几个月，人们一直想知道这部宪法将怎样被实施，是用来促进中国向市场经济的转型，还是阻挡真正的竞争。3月18日星期三，随着对最大一桩、外商的、直接并购案的否定——可口可乐公司以24亿美元收购中国最大果汁公司-汇源果汁——答案浮出水面了。 |
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When the deal was announced last September, it was at a price three times Huiyuan’s valuation at the time. Since then, as global markets have collapsed, it has only become more appealing. Huiyuan is a private company and juice had previously been free of government control, so theoretically it should have been available for purchase. “It is a very unfortunate outcome in an industry that has no economic or national-security significance,” says Lester Ross of WilmerHale, a law firm, in Beijing. |
当交易在去年9月被宣布，交易价（24亿）是汇源当时市值的三倍。自那时，随着全球经济的崩溃，这笔交易更具吸引力。汇源是一家私人企业，果汁产品一直免受政府控制，所以从理论上，它是可以被购买的。“这是一个非常不幸的结果，这个行业对经济命脉和国家安全无重大影响”北京WilmerHale律师事务所的Lester Ross说。 |
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The most benign interpretation of the rejection being bandied about by lawyers and bankers is that it reflects a political response to critical comments by America’s new administration—a warning, of sorts, that could dissipate quickly if the economic relationship between China and America can find a firm footing. The more dire interpretation is that even as China publicly urges other countries to commit to opening their markets to Chinese investment and trade, it is imposing yet another barrier to outsiders. Worse still, the barriers are in its domestic consumer sector, one of the rare global economic bright spots.
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关于这个拒绝最好的解释，律师和银行家们讨论认为：它反映了对于美国新政府批评意见的一个的政治回应—如果中美的经济关系能够找到一个坚实的基础，那么这种近乎的警告可能会很快消失。但更坏的解释是，即使中国公开促进其他国家答应开放他们的市场对中国进行投资和贸易，但中国设置了又一个障碍对付外来者。更糟糕的是，这个障碍是在它自己国内的消费市场——全球经济中少有的亮点之一。 |
| Adding irony to the decision, it comes just as the Chinese government is indicating that it is actively encouraging, if not forcing, consolidation and greater market concentration in a number of areas, including steel, cars and airlines, and just after it imposed a new oligopoly in telecommunications. No domestic Chinese transaction has fallen foul of the new monopoly law. |
对于这个决定更具讽刺意味的是，它正值中国政府表明在许多领域——包括钢铁、汽车和航空行业——积极鼓励(如果不是强制的话)更大的市场集中和合并，并且在之后电信成了一个新的寡头集团。然而，尚没有国内的中国公司间的收购交易触犯这部新的垄断法。 |
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Signs that foreign companies might be the primary targets of the law began to emerge in November, when a merger between two brewers, America’s Anheuser-Busch and Belgium’s InBev, was endorsed by Chinese regulators only on the condition that the combined firm’s existing interest in several domestic breweries be frozen. In particular, Anheuser-Busch’s non-controlling 27% stake in Tsingtao, a leading Chinese brewer, was largely liquidated in January after what is presumed to be pressure from the government.
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外国公司可能才是这部法律针对的首要目标的迹象出现在11月份，当美国Anheuser - Busch公司和比利时的InBev两家啤酒制造商之间的合并，被中国监管部门认可的条件是，合并后的公司在国内酿酒厂中的现有利益将被冻结。尤其是, Anheuser - Busch公司在中国领先的啤酒企业——青岛啤酒的27 ％的非控制股权在1月份绝大部分地兑现，被认为来自政府的压力。 |
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The Coca-Cola Company holds as much as half of the domestic Chinese market for carbonated beverages, but the juice business is highly fragmented. Estimates are not particularly reliable, but various accounts suggest the two companies would control more than of 20% of the juice business. In a brief statement, China’s ministry of commerce said Coke’s “dominant status” might “imperil” small competitors and force consumers to face higher prices and less choice.
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可口可乐公司拥有多达一半的中国碳酸饮料市场，但是果汁业市场是分散的。虽然估计不是特别可靠，但各种统计数据显示了两家公司已经占有超过20 ％果汁业市场份额。在一份简短的声明中，中国商务部表示，可口可乐的“主导地位”可能“危及”小的竞争对手，并且迫使消费者面临更高的价格和更少的选择。 |
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After the decision was announced, investment banks were left wondering, in the words of one employee, whether “a key plank in their business had just blown up.” Coke has spent years developing its presence in China, and has invested heavily, presumably making it one of the world’s more acceptable buyers. It is also one of the few companies able to finance a big deal in today’s difficult circumstances. If Coke was not acceptable to the Chinese authorities, then who is? The rejection will inevitably be used as evidence of non-reciprocity, and the collusion between the country’s state and private sectors, by anyone opposed to China’s recent efforts to buy companies abroad.
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这个决定被宣布之后，投资银行感到迷惑，用一个员工的话来说，是否“他们的业务中关键的一块已经宣告失败”。可口可乐在华发展多年，并进行了大量投资，这些足让它成为世界上较为被认可的买家之一。它也是为数不多的，能在当前这样困难的经济形势下拿出资金完成这么大收购的公司。如果连可口可乐公司都不被中国当局接受，那么还有哪家公司能被接受呢？对于任何反对中国最近努力收购外国公司的人来说，这次的否决将不可避免地被用做是非互惠，以及国营和私营间相互串通的证据。 |
| Deepening the gloom, another new Chinese law comes into effect on May 1st, subjecting any transfer of a state-controlled asset to yet another layer of review, this time by a local commission. Theoretically this is not aimed at any particular kind of acquirer, and would not block well-conceived deals, but that, of course, was said about the monopoly law as well. The new law had not received much attention. It will now. |
更令人沮丧的是，中国另一部新法律将在五月一日开始生效，使得任何国有资产转让都要受到另一个层面的审核—地方委员会。理论上，这并非针对某些特定的收购者，并且不会阻档被大家看好的交易，当然，垄断法也是这样写的。这部新法律还没有得到太多重视，但它会的。 |