賈躍亭承認樂視擴張過快
The billionaire founder of LeEco, one of China’s hottest technology groups, has told employees that his company has burnt through cash too quickly as it expanded into businesses ranging from movie production to driverless cars.
中國最熱門的科技企業之一樂視集團(LeEco)身家億萬的創始人賈躍亭向員工表示，樂視在向從電影製作到無人駕駛汽車等各種業務擴張的過程中，燒錢的速度過快。
The company had been seen as a leading example of a Chinese technology company poised to profit from the rebalancing of the country’s economy away from heavy industry towards consumption and services.
樂視曾被視爲準備從中國經濟再平衡（即擺脫對重工業的依賴，轉而側重消費和服務業）中獲利的中國科技企業的典範之一。
But problems with its strategy were laid bare in a letter from Jia Yueting, founder and chief executive, which raised doubts about the pursuit of market share growth — a path that many Chinese technology companies have followed.
然而，樂視創始人兼首席執行官賈躍亭發出的一封信，卻揭示了該公司的戰略存在的一些問題。這封信對樂視執着於市場份額的增長提出了質疑——許多中國科技企業走的都是這樣的發展路線。
“There is a problem with non-listed LeEco’s growth pace and organisational capacities,” Mr Jia wrote. “Our funding and resources are extremely limited. Our early-stage investment in Leshi auto has been enormous, with continuous spending of more than Rmb10bn.”
“LeEco戰略實現節奏過快，組織與資金面臨極大挑戰，”賈躍亭寫道，“相對應的是我們的資金和資源其實非常有限。一方面樂視汽車前期投入巨大，陸續花掉100多億的自有資金。”
Mr Jia, whose estimated net worth of $6.2bn placed him 31st on the latest Hurun Rich List for China, said he would accept a nominal salary of Rmb1 for life. Shares in Shenzhen-listed Leshi Internet Information & Technology Corp, which Mr Jia also controls, have fallen 14 per cent since last Friday amid rumours that the company was unable to pay Rmb10bn owed to a supplier. The company has denied the rumours.
賈躍亭的財富淨值估計爲62億美元，在最新的《胡潤中國百富榜》(Hurun China Rich List)上排名第31位。他表示，他自願永遠只領取公司1元人民幣的名義年薪。有傳聞稱，樂視未能支付欠供應商的100億元人民幣。受此傳聞影響，賈躍亭控股、在深圳上市的樂視網(Leshi Internet Information & Technology Corp)的股價自上週五以來下跌了14%。樂視方面已否認了上述傳聞。
Mr Jia’s empire began as a Netflix-style streaming video platform, but he has spent lavishly over the past two years to expand into far-flung business lines. LeEco symbolises the company’s ambitions to develop an integrated ecosystem of devices and services.
賈躍亭的帝國始於一個Netflix式的流媒體視頻直播平臺，但他在過去兩年裏斥重金向五花八門的業務線擴張。LeEco這一標識，象徵着該公司立志打造一個集設備與服務於一體的生態系統。
In October, LeEco revealed a self-driving car in San Francisco. The company is spending $1.8bn on an electric-car plant in east China’s Zhejiang province and is also a primary backer of Faraday Future, which is building a separate electric car factory in the suburbs of Las Vegas.
今年10月，樂視在舊金山發佈了一款自動駕駛汽車。該公司正斥資18億美元，在浙江省建設一座電動汽車製造廠。此外，該公司還是法拉第未來(Faraday Future)的主要投資方之一，法拉第未來正在美國拉斯維加斯郊外建設另一座電動汽車製造廠。
In February, LeEco agreed with Aston Martin a joint venture to build an electric vehicle. The two companies previously struck a deal for LeEco to provide in-car entertainment systems.
今年2月，樂視與阿斯頓.馬丁(Aston Martin)達成協議，建立一家合資企業製造一款電動汽車。兩家公司之前還曾達成協議，由樂視提供車載娛樂系統。
LeEco spent $2bn in July to acquire US television manufacturer Vizio. And last month LeEco raised its stake in Chinese smartphone producer Coolpad, becoming the company’s largest shareholder. In the past month, the group has also revealed a new smartphone, smart TV, virtual reality headset and “super bike” with an Android-enabled touchscreen.
今年7月，樂視斥資20億美元收購美國電視機制造商Vizio。上月，樂視增持了中國智能手機制造商酷派(Coolpad)的股份，成爲該公司最大股東。樂視在過去一個月裏還發布了新的智能手機、智能電視、虛擬現實頭盔及配備可使用Android系統的觸摸屏的“超級自行車”。
But analysts say LeEco sells high-performance hardware below cost in an attempt to hook users into its value-added services, a risky strategy that has also caused problems for Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi. Leshi has also spent heavily on content licensing fees for its internet TV platform.
不過，分析師表示，爲了吸引用戶使用其增值服務，樂視在以低於成本的價格銷售高性能的硬件，這是一種高風險的戰略，這種戰略也爲中國智能手機制造商小米(Xiaomi)帶來了麻煩。此外，樂視還在其互聯網電視平臺的內容許可費上花了大量的錢。
Le Vision Pictures, the group’s movie production arm, is in production on The Great Wall, directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Matt Damon, in what has been billed as the largest joint Sino-US film co-production.
樂視旗下的電影製作公司樂視影業(Le Vision Pictures)，正在製作由張藝謀執導、由馬特.達蒙(Matt Damon)主演的《長城》(The Great Wall)，該片被宣傳爲最大手筆的中美合拍影片。
Last year LeEco invested $700m in Yidao Yongche, a car-hailing app with a niche in the Chinese market dominated by the Alibaba and Tencent-backed Didi Chuxing.
去年，樂視對易到用車(Yidao Yongche)投資7億美元。易到用車是一款叫車應用，在由阿里巴巴(Alibaba)和騰訊(Tencent)投資的滴滴出行(Didi Chuxing)主導的中國叫車市場，易到用車佔據了一塊利基市場。
“They have a reputation for splashing cash around. There has been a sense of lack of strategy to what they’re doing,” said Duncan Clark, chairman of BDA China, a technology consultancy. “Fast cars and entertainment — it’s a tough mix.”
科技諮詢公司博達克(BDA China)的董事長鄧肯.克拉克(Duncan Clark)表示：“他們以四處撒錢而聞名。給人的感覺是他們做的事缺乏戰略。飛奔的汽車和娛樂，很難捏合到一起。”
