股權大戰股東爭端影響萬科業績

An intensifying shareholder dispute at China Vanke has shaken investor confidence in the property developer, cut its access to bank lending and upended projects during the first half of the year, the group said.

萬科(China Vanke)昨日表示，愈演愈烈的股東爭端在今年上半年動搖了投資者對這家房地產開發商的信心，擠壓了該集團獲得銀行貸款的渠道，還妨礙了項目。

China’s largest retail property developer, which reported a 10 per cent year-on-year increase in profit to Rmb5.35bn ($803m) for the first six months of 2016, said for the first time it was in dialogue with shareholders in the hope of resolving China’s first big hostile takeover.

中國最大零售房地產開發商報告2016年頭六個月利潤同比增長10%，至53.5億元人民幣（合8.03億美元）。該集團首次表示，正與相關股東溝通，以求解決中國首宗大規模敵意收購。

Baoneng, a little-known Shenzhen-based company, grabbed headlines in December when it took a 24 per cent stake in Vanke, overtaking China Resources to become the largest shareholder. The battle has since devolved into a public dispute in which Baoneng has demanded the removal of Vanke’s directors, while Vanke has struck back with its own ripostes.

總部位於深圳、名氣不大的寶能(Baoneng)在去年12月登上新聞頭條，原因是該公司買下了萬科24%的股份，這使其超越華潤(China Resources)，成爲萬科最大股東。這場角力後來演變成一場公開糾紛，寶能要求罷免萬科全體董事，而萬科不客氣地作出回擊。

The tussle has recently attracted new shareholders with ambiguous loyalties, such as Evergrande, which last week raised its stake in Vanke to 7 per cent, making it the third-largest shareholder and qualifying it to eventually nominate a director.

這場角力最近吸引了態度曖昧的新股東，如恆大(Evergrande)，該集團上週提高其在萬科持股比例至7%，成爲第三大股東，最終將有資格提名一位董事。

Anbang Insurance earlier this year also increased its holdings to earn the same privilege. A vote for new directors is scheduled for March.

安邦保險(Anbang Insurance)今年早些時候也把所持股份增至能夠獲得這一特權的水平。對新董事會人選的投票定於明年3月舉行。

“Each shareholder’s request is different but we hope that eventually we can reach an agreement for Vanke’s long-term stability,” Zhu Xu, the secretary of the board, said in Hong Kong yesterday.

萬科董事會祕書朱旭昨日在香港表示，每個股東的要求是不同的，但該公司“希望各方股東最終能爲了萬科穩定和長期健康發展走到一起”。

Company results were mixed. Revenue from property development grew almost 50 per cent year on year to Rmb68.2bn, but the group’s profit margin dropped 3.6 percentage points from a year earlier to 18.6 per cent.

該公司的業績好壞參半。來自房地產開發的營收同比增長近50%，至682億元人民幣，但集團的利潤率同比下降3.6個百分點，至18.6%。

The results dragged down its Hong Kong-listed shares half a percentage point to HK$5.22, underperforming the Hang Seng index.

這些業績拖累其在香港上市的股票下跌半個百分點至5.22港元，遜於恆生指數(Hang Seng index)。

The corporate raid has brought on anything but stability for Vanke. The company disclosed a list of problems suffered in the first six months of the year that it said were due to dispute.

這場股權大戰給萬科帶來種種問題，穩定無從談起。該公司披露其在今年頭六個月遭遇的一連串問題，稱它們都是股權糾紛所致。

For example, its land acquisition efforts were shaken as “some partners worried that the advantages of the group’s brand, management and financing could not be sustained”, resulting in the delay or scrapping of 31 projects. Five other expansion projects were altered or abandoned.

例如，其獲取土地的努力受到了衝擊，原因是一些合作伙伴擔心該集團的品牌、管理和融資優勢無法持續，這導致31個房地產開發項目被暫緩或取消。萬科物業5個洽談合作項目暫緩、變更或考慮終止合作。

Banks have reduced Vanke’s access to loans, according to its interim report, and global rating agencies have warned that the group’s corporate rating could be affected. Headhunters have also targeted employees, resulting in high staff turnover in June and July, after Baoneng proposed the removal of the company’s directors.

根據萬科的中期報告，各銀行收窄了該集團的貸款渠道，同時國際評級機構警告稱，該集團的企業評級可能受到影響。獵頭公司也把目光投向萬科員工，寶能提出罷免該公司的董事後，員工流失率在6、7月偏高。

Mr Zhu noted that Wang Shi, Vanke chairman, did not attend yesterday’s press briefing because he was busy dealing with the “shareholder incident”.

朱旭指出，萬科集團董事長王石沒有參加昨日的記者會，是因爲他忙於處理“股東事件”。

Vanke had hoped to sell $6.9bn in shares to Shenzhen Metro, making it the company’s largest shareholder — a measure Vanke executives had insisted was not purely intended to defend itself from hostile parties. But that effort was shot down by Baoneng earlier this year.

萬科曾希望向深圳地鐵(Shenzhen Metro)出售69億美元的股票，使其成爲萬科最大股東；萬科高管們堅稱，此舉並非純粹爲了防禦敵意收購方。但這一努力在今年早些時候被寶能否決。

The dispute has become a landmark case for China’s corporate sector and, depending on how the government reacted, could promote or dissuade hostile bids for years to come, experts said.

專家們表示，這場爭端已成爲一個對中國企業部門具有里程碑意義的案例，取決於政府如何反應，它可能在未來許多年裏促進或阻止敵意收購。