中國監(jiān)管新規(guī)傷及對外娛樂業(yè)收購

Attempts by Chinese companies at Disney-style transformations — from unloved industrial frogs to handsome media princes in the eyes of investors — have been dealt a blow by new regulations aimed at curbing capital flight.

中國多家企業(yè)實施迪斯尼式轉型、從投資者眼中不討喜的工業(yè)“青蛙”變?yōu)橛⒖〉膫髅?ldquo;王子”的企圖，受到了限制資金外逃的新監(jiān)管規(guī)定的沉重打擊。

The Chinese currency controls could scupper the metamorphosis of enterprises such as Zhejiang Jinke Entertainment, formerly known as Zhejiang Jinke Peroxides, an industrial chemical company from southern China.

中國的外匯管制或令浙江金科娛樂文化股份有限公司(Zhejiang Jinke Entertainment)等企業(yè)的轉型遭遇失敗。該公司原名浙江金科過氧化物股份有限公司(Zhejiang Jinke Peroxides)，是中國南方一家化工企業(yè)。

Its move from a lacklustre sunset industry towards becoming a global entertainment powerhouse had been swift. In February, it bought a local mobile gaming company for Rmb2.9bn ($420m); in July, it officially changed its name and said it would buy more entertainment assets.

這家原本屬于一個死氣沉沉的夕陽產業(yè)的公司，一直以迅速的步伐朝著成為一家強大的全球娛樂企業(yè)邁進。今年2月，該公司斥資29億元人民幣(合4.2億美元)收購了國內一家手游公司;今年7月，該公司正式更改了企業(yè)名稱，并表示會收購更多娛樂業(yè)資產。

Within a month, its Shenzhen-listed share price had surged 70 per cent.

在不到一個月的時間里，這家在深市上市的企業(yè)股價暴漲了70%。

But Jinke’s plans have been thrown into flux. Last week, just as several Chinese news outlets reported it was in talks to buy the Slovenian entertainment company Outfit 7, valued at €600m, Beijing was busy promulgating new rules limiting capital outflows from China — including foreign acquisitions by Chinese groups.

然而，如今金科的計劃卻已陷入不確定性之中。最近，就在多家新聞機構報道該公司正在進行談判、準備收購估值為6億歐元的斯洛文尼亞娛樂公司Outfit 7之際，中國政府正忙著頒布限制資金流出中國(包括中資企業(yè)的境外收購行為)的新規(guī)定。

In particular, it focused on those that had little to do with the company’s core business. In Zhejiang Jinke’s case, despite the name change, this is still peroxide chemicals.

中國政府尤其關注的是那些與收購發(fā)起公司的核心業(yè)務沒什么關系的交易。在浙江金科的案例中，盡管該公司改了名字，它的核心業(yè)務仍然是過氧化物生產。

Last Tuesday, four Chinese regulators issued a joint statement saying they were monitoring the tendency of “irrational” overseas investment in several industries, specifically real estate, hotels, film, entertainment and sports clubs.

上周二，中國四家監(jiān)管機構發(fā)布了一份聯(lián)合聲明，表示它們正在密切關注在房地產、酒店、影城、娛樂業(yè)、體育俱樂部等領域出現(xiàn)的一些“非理性”對外投資傾向。

“Tying up to a media business has become very hip,” says Michael Fosh of the Beijing office of Reed Smith, a law firm that handles entertainment deals. He notes similarities with the rush to capitalise on the commodities boom several years ago, when local companies that changed their names to include “resources” saw their stock prices shoot up.

禮德律師事務所(Reed Smith)北京辦事處的傅石(Michael Fosh)表示：“與傳媒企業(yè)攜手已變得非常時髦。”他還指出，這與幾年前企業(yè)爭相利用大宗商品熱潮獲利的情況類似，當時多家在名稱中增加“資源”兩字的中國國內企業(yè)股價直線上升。禮德律師事務所為娛樂業(yè)并購交易提供法律服務。

Last year, when Dalian Kemian Wood Industry changed its name to Dalian Zeus Entertainment Group, its share surged by three quarters over the course of the year.

去年，大連科冕木業(yè)股份有限公司(Dalian Kemian Wood Industry)更名為大連天神娛樂股份有限公司(Dalian Zeus Entertainment Group)，其股價在該年暴漲了四分之三。

The latest attempt at a metamorphosis was the agreement last month by Anhui Xinke New Materials, a copper processor, to pay as much $518m to buy the parent company of Voltage Pictures, the Hollywood studio behind The Hurt Locker movie.

此類轉型嘗試的最新例子，是上個月銅加工商安徽鑫科新材料股份有限公司(Anhui Xinke New Materials)達成協(xié)議，以5.18億美元收購Voltage Pictures的母公司。Voltage Pictures是制作電影《拆彈部隊》(The Hurt Locker，見上圖)的好萊塢制片廠。

The new investment rules cast doubt on whether the strategic transformations of many Chinese heavy industrial companies can succeed and revive share prices and fortunes depressed by an economic slowdown.

新的投資規(guī)定令人懷疑許多中國重工業(yè)企業(yè)的戰(zhàn)略轉型能否成功、以及能否重振受到經濟放緩打壓的股價和企業(yè)命運。

The regulations appear more far-reaching than initially thought. A number of already agreed foreign deals have been delayed as of November 28, according to one financier who works in the entertainment industry, pending questions from the State Administration on Foreign Exchange — including some transactions well below the $1bn threshold for official scrutiny.

這一監(jiān)管規(guī)定的影響似乎遠遠超出了最初的設想。根據一位娛樂業(yè)領域金融人士的說法，截至11月28日，已有多筆已經達成的對外交易被推遲，等待國家外匯管理局(State Administration of Foreign Exchange)的問詢——其中包括部分規(guī)模大大低于10億美元官方審查門檻的交易。

The situation is also causing problems for foreign companies, with some unable to complete the usually routine process of remitting dividends abroad.

這一局面也在為外國企業(yè)帶來問題，部分外企無法完成將股息匯往境外這一通常為例行的程序。

With the restrictions, Beijing is seeking to curb capital flight disguised as foreign investment. Some Chinese companies are thought to have moved billions of dollars offshore via acquisitions to escape the country’s weakening currency, with analysts noting a particular tendency among Chinese buyers to overpay for foreign assets.

中國政府正試圖通過這些限制舉措，抑制偽裝成對外投資的資金外逃行為。有人認為，部分中國企業(yè)已將數十億美元資金通過并購的方式轉移至境外，以規(guī)避不斷走弱的人民幣——分析師指出，中國買家中出現(xiàn)了以過高價格收購境外資產的獨特傾向。

Commerce ministry data show that overseas purchases by Chinese companies hit $146bn in the first 10 months of this year, surging past last year’s record of $121bn for non-financial outbound investments.

商務部數據顯示，今年頭10個月中國企業(yè)對境外企業(yè)的非金融類直接投資猛增，達到1460億美元，超過了去年創(chuàng)下的1210億美元的紀錄。

Authorities are primarily concerned about outbound deals worth more than $10bn, but those exceeding $1bn will face examination if they are outside a company’s core business, say people who have seen a draft of the new State Council rules. In practice, deals well below that level are being queried by regulators, the people add.

見過國務院新規(guī)定草案的人士表示，中國當局主要關心的是價值超過100億美元的對外并購交易，不過如果是涉及企業(yè)核心業(yè)務以外的并購，10億美元以上的交易就會面臨審查。該人士還說，實際上，規(guī)模大大低于這一水平的交易也已遭到監(jiān)管機構問詢。

Analysts say that even well-established entertainment companies may have trouble closing already agreed deals.

分析師表示，即使是老牌的娛樂業(yè)企業(yè)，要完成已達成的交易也可能遇上麻煩。

“I expect that over the next few months the government will make it very difficult for a lot of outbound M&A deals to close,” says Shaun Rein, managing director of China Market Research, a consultancy in Shanghai. “I think it’s going to be tough for the entertainment deals — a lot of those deals are about trying to get money out of the country or just to diversify.”

上海咨詢機構中國市場研究集團(China Market Research)董事總經理雷小山(Shaun Rein)表示：“預計今后幾個月政府會令許多對外并購交易極難完成。我認為娛樂業(yè)交易將面臨困難——許多這類交易是為了將資金轉移至國外或者僅僅是為了讓業(yè)務多元化。”

Dalian Wanda, the property and entertainment conglomerate led by Wang Jianlin, the country’s richest man, has been leading the Chinese march into Hollywood. Wanda, which is building a formidable US film empire, last month agreed to pay $4bn for Dick Clark Productions, the company that runs the Golden Globe awards and Miss America pageant. Wanda declined to comment on whether the deal has closed or how it might be affected by the restrictions.

中國首富王健林旗下的房地產和娛樂業(yè)集團大連萬達(Dalian Wanda)一直引領著中國人向好萊塢的進軍。萬達目前正在打造一個強大的美國電影業(yè)帝國。上個月，該集團同意斥資40億美元，收購運營金球獎(Golden Globe)和美國小姐(Miss America)選美活動的迪克•克拉克制片公司(Dick Clark Productions)。對于該交易是否已經完成、或者上述限制可能如何影響該集團的問題，萬達拒絕置評。

Jinke Entertainment says it was in talks about acquiring an asset, though it declined to give details, and seemed unperturbed by the new regulations. “We are going with our original plan; we don’t expect any impact,” the company says.

金科娛樂表示，該公司正在就收購一項資產進行談判，不過它拒絕透露相關細節(jié)，而且似乎對新的監(jiān)管規(guī)定安之若素。該公司表示：“我們正在按原計劃實施，預計不會受到任何影響。”

Analysts say Anhui Xinke’s deal may well come under the microscope, especially since the price it paid was high, according to two entertainment finance specialists.

分析師表示，安徽鑫科的交易或許會被置于顯微鏡下審視，尤其是考慮到根據兩位娛樂業(yè)金融專家的說法，該公司支付的價格很高。

Xinke considers media its core area of business, according to Chinese press reports, because it has a television station in the central Chinese city of Xian and has set up a special media subsidiary based in Hong Kong.

據中國媒體報道，由于鑫科在中國中部城市西安擁有一家電視制作公司，在香港還擁有一家專門的傳媒公司，該公司認為傳媒是自己的核心業(yè)務。

But there are separate questions about how Xinke plans to pay for its 80 per cent stake in Voltage Pictures. The deal is to be all cash, but Xinke made a profit of just Rmb74m ($11m) last year, on revenues of Rmb5.8bn, according to stock exchange filings.

不過，對于鑫科打算如何為Voltage Pictures公司80%的股份付款，還存在其他質疑。該交易將全部用現(xiàn)金完成，然而根據鑫科向證交所提供的文件，該公司去年營收為58億元人民幣，利潤總額只有7400萬元人民幣(合1100萬美元)。

Voltage Pictures did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Xinke declined to comment on the deal.

Voltage Pictures未馬上回復記者的置評請求。鑫科拒絕置評該交易。

“These regulations are a double-edged sword,” says one entertainment financier in Beijing. “There are a lot of crazy deals that will get blocked, but some legitimate ones might also run into trouble.”

北京一位娛樂業(yè)金融人士表示：“這些監(jiān)管規(guī)定是一把雙刃劍。許多瘋狂的交易將被封殺，但部分合法交易可能也會遇到問題。”