日本政府企業救助戰略引發爭議
With the $3.5bn sale of Sharp to Taiwan’s Foxconn last week, any wishful thinking that the state would rescue Japan Inc from foreign takeovers proved to be an illusion.
夏普(Sharp)不久前被以35億美元的價格出售給了臺灣的富士康(Foxconn)，至此，所有一廂情願地以爲日本政府會盡力救助本國公司、阻止其被外資收購的想法都被證明是錯誤的。
Yet it is too soon to celebrate the complete end of state bailouts and protectionism in Japan. The government of prime minister Shinzo Abe has been active in streamlining underperforming industries through mergers of regional banks and oil refiners. Ministers have also encouraged consolidation in consumer electronics, automobile and other sectors, as Japanese companies compete to survive in an era of artificial intelligence and connected devices.
不過，要慶祝政府救助和保護主義在日本徹底終結還爲時尚早。在首相安倍晉三(Shinzo Abe)的領導下，日本政府通過合併地區性銀行和煉油企業，積極地對狀況不佳的行業實施整頓。在日本企業積極參與競爭、以求在人工智能和設備互聯時代維持生存的情況下，政府高官也鼓勵在消費電子、汽車等行業實施整合。
The government’s role, however, is more controversial when it uses the guise of “national interest” to justify injecting taxpayers’ money into troubled companies through vehicles such as the Innovation Network Corp of Japan.
然而，當政府以“國家利益”爲藉口，通過日本產業革新機構(INCJ)等機構把納稅人資金注入困難企業時，其扮演的角色也引起了更大爭議。
Despite being armed with $18bn in investment capability, the state-backed fund was outbid by Foxconn’s Terry Gou in its pursuit of Sharp. But it has assisted Renesas Electronics and other struggling businesses even when there were competing offers from private investors.
儘管可投資的資金達到180億美元，但在競購夏普時，這家政府基金的報價低於富士康的郭臺銘(Terry Gou)。不過，該機構對瑞薩電子(Renesas Electronics)和其他陷入困境的企業提供了支持，即便是在有私人投資者參與競購的情況下。
It may be no coincidence that Japan’s fair trade watchdog last week released guidelines on state assistance to companies, just a day after the landmark Sharp takeover by Hon Hai Precision Industry, the parent of Foxconn, was announced. While a foreign buyout could not be avoided this time, state-backed funds such as the INCJ are already looking for their next big deal.
在富士康母公司鴻海精密(Hon Hai Precision Industry)收購夏普這樁具有里程碑意義的交易宣佈一天之後，日本的公平貿易監管機構發佈了關於政府援助企業的指導方針。這或許並非巧合。儘管這一次日本企業被外企收購不可避免，但INCJ等政府基金已開始在物色下一宗大交易。
The guidelines are aimed at preventing distortions to competition caused by state aid. It comes after criticism that the government bailout of Japan Airlines following its 2010 bankruptcy had unfairly strengthened the carrier compared with ANA Holdings, its main rival.
這份指導方針旨在防止政府救助扭曲了市場競爭。此前，人們批評說，2010年日本航空(JAL)破產後得到政府的救助，不公平地增強了其相對於主要競爭對手全日空航空公司(ANA Holdings)的實力。
State assistance to the volatile airline industry is not unique to Japan. It has occurred repeatedly across the world, and some efforts have proven woefully ineffective, as in the case of Alitalia, the struggling Italian flag carrier that is 49 per cent owned by Etihad Airways, the Abu Dhabi-based airline.
由政府爲動盪的航空業提供支持的並非只有日本。世界各國都在不斷地發生這樣的事，有些做法已被證明是完全無效的，比如苦苦掙扎的意大利主要航空公司意大利航空(Alitalia)。目前，總部位於阿布扎比的阿提哈德航空(Etihad Airways)持有意大利航空49%的股權。
By contrast, JAL reduced headcount and also rationalised its fleet of aircraft, and it has become one of the most profitable carriers in the world, giving the government a significant return on its money.
對比之下，日航進行了裁員，也精簡了旗下飛機陣容。該公司已成爲世界上盈利能力最強的航空公司之一，給日本政府帶來了豐厚的投資回報。
But critics say Japanese government assistance to JAL — totalling nearly Y1tn ($9bn) through a combination of capital injection, loans and debt waiver — was far too generous and resulted in it becoming far stronger than its rival.
但批評人士表示，日本政府對日航的支持太過慷慨——通過注資、提供貸款和免除債務，總額接近1萬億日元（約合90億美元）——導致該公司的實力比對手強了很多。
Latest financial figures show JAL’s net profit was twice that of ANA. JAL’s equity ratio — a measure of capital strength — stood at 56 per cent compared with ANA’s 36 per cent. ANA, Japan’s largest carrier in terms of revenue, had interest-bearing debt 9.4 times bigger than JAL.
最新財務數字顯示，日航的淨利潤是全日空的兩倍。日航的股東權益比率——衡量資本實力的指標——爲56%，全日空則爲36%。作爲日本營收額最高的航空公司，全日空的附息債務規模是日航的9.4倍。
Given six years have elapsed since JAL filed for bankruptcy protection, it appears late to undo the competitive advantage the carrier enjoys. Mr Abe’s government has tried to favour ANA in the allotment of new landing slots at airports.
自從日航申請破產保護以來已過去了6年，這時撤銷該公司享有的競爭優勢似乎爲時已晚。安倍政府已設法在分配新的機場降落時段時對全日空有所照顧。
ANA has also taken stakes in Asian airlines, even as JAL remains restricted on making investments until March 2017. ANA is also seeking to look beyond its domestic rival to become a globally competitive carrier.
全日空還入股了多家亞洲航空公司，而日航仍受到2017年3月之前不得進行投資的限制。全日空也把目光投向國內對手之外，希望成爲一傢俱有全球競爭力的航空公司。
Still, Kazuyuki Sugimoto, chairman of the Japan Fair Trade Commission, worries that cases such as JAL’s bailout lead to “moral hazard” because company management feel they can count on the government to come to the rescue, while competent rivals are left comparatively weaker by their own lack of state aid. Japan’s new guidelines call for state assistance to be temporary, minimal and limited to situations where private investors are absent. More transparency is called for in assessing the impact of state aid on competition.
儘管如此，日本公平貿易委員會(Japan fair trade commission)委員長杉本和行(Kazuyuki Sugimoto)擔心，救助日航之類的案例會產生“道德風險”，因爲公司管理層會覺得他們可以指望政府伸出援手，而能力強的競爭對手則因缺少政府支持而處於相對弱勢的地位。日本新出臺的政府援助企業準則提出，政府援助應是暫時和最低限度的，並且僅限於私人投資者缺席的情況。準則中要求，在評估政府援助對競爭的影響時，要更加透明。
The Japanese commission used comparatively strict EU rules that limit state support in compiling its guidelines. Yet the blueprint still lacks sufficient teeth to enforce the conditions on state assistance to help ensure that rivals are not disadvantaged.
該委員會在編制這份準則時，採納了歐盟較爲嚴格的限制政府支持的規則。不過，這份指導大綱仍缺乏足夠的效力，以執行有關政府支持的條件、幫助確保被支持者的競爭對手不會落入不利境地。
Without effective safeguards against state intervention, the Sharp deal may turn out to be an exception rather than a turning point for companies choosing between overseas buyers and the cosy hands of the government.
在缺乏有效防範政府幹預的措施的情況下，就企業如何在海外買家與政府溫暖的手之間進行選擇來說，夏普收購案或許只會是一個例外，而不是一個轉折點。
