中資企業各顯身手 逐鹿葡萄牙

Say Fosun or Anbang to most Europeans and they will probably shrug. But this could be about to change as the two acquisitive Chinese groups continue to snap up assets across Europe’s struggling financial services sector.

跟歐洲人說起復星(Fosun)或安邦(Anbang)，絕大多數人很可能都會聳聳肩表示沒聽說過。但是，隨着這兩家收購胃口大開的中國企業繼續在歐洲苦苦掙扎的金融服務業搶購資產，這種情況可能即將改變。

The main battleground is in Portugal, where China has become the biggest source of foreign direct investment. By the end of June, Fosun International and Anbang Insurance are expected to submit the highest final bids for Novo Banco, the country’s third-biggest bank by assets.

如今的主戰場在葡萄牙，中國已經成爲該國境外直接投資的最大來源國。6月底，復星國際(Fosun International)和安邦保險(Anbang Insurance)預計將爲收購Novo Banco銀行提交最高的最終報價。Novo Banco是葡萄牙資產第三大銀行。

A 4bn-plus acquisition of Novo Banco would represent more than 2 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product. It would almost certainly make Portugal the leading EU destination for Chinese investment this year.

超過40億歐元的Novo Banco收購案，將相當於葡萄牙國內生產總值(GDP)的逾2%。幾乎可以肯定，這會使葡萄牙成爲今年中國在歐盟(EU)投資的第一大目的地。

Chinese groups have already invested almost 6bn in Portugal since the eurozone debt crisis erupted in 2011, or more than 10bn if an investment of 4.4bn in Petrogal Brasil, part of Portugal’s Galp Energia group, is included.

自2011年歐元區債務危機爆發以來，中國企業在葡萄牙的投資已經接近60億歐元，如果再計入對Petrogal Brasil（爲葡萄牙Galp Energia集團的一部分）投入的44億歐元，則投資額超過100億歐元。

Last year, Fosun paid 1.7bn for 80 per cent of Fidelidade, a Portuguese insurer. Fidelidade went on to buy ES Saúde, a private hospital operator that was previously owned by the Espírito Santo group. It also bought a 5 per cent stake in Redes Energéticas Nacionais, Portugal’s national grid operator.

去年，復星出資17億歐元收購了葡萄牙保險公司Fidelidade 80%的股權。接着Fidelidade收購了私人醫院運營商ES Saúde，後者之前歸聖靈(Espírito Santo)集團所有。它還收購了葡萄牙國家電網(Redes Energéticas Nacionais) 5%的股權。

People familiar with the situation say that Fosun and Anbang are now locked in a two-way contest for Novo Banco, outbidding rival suitors including Spain’s Santander and US private equity groups Apollo Global Management and Cerberus. Novo Banco was created last year as the “good bank” formed out of the ashes of the failed Banco Espírito Santo, which was once the country’s biggest lender by assets, but which collapsed amid allegations of fraud.

知情人士稱，復星和安邦如今陷入收購Novo Banco的相互競賽，他們的出價高於其他競購對手，包括西班牙桑坦德銀行(Santander)、美國私人股本集團阿波羅全球管理(Apollo Global Management)、賽伯樂(Cerberus)。Novo Banco是去年在破產的必利勝銀行(Banco Espírito Santo)的基礎上成立的“好銀行”，必利勝銀行曾是葡萄牙資產最大的銀行，但在欺詐指控中破產。

The lossmaking Novo Banco has been relieved of 7bn in toxic assets and has inherited a 40bn loan portfolio from BES — of which 70 per cent is corporate lending — considered one of its most attractive assets. Its deposits totalled 26.6bn in December.

虧損的Novo Banco已經被解除了70億歐元的不良資產，並從必利勝銀行承襲了400億歐元的貸款組合——其中70%是企業貸款——這被認爲是其最具吸引力的資產。去年12月，其存款總計266億歐元。

An added attraction for the Chinese bidders is that the bank owns 9.7 per cent of Banco Econômico in Angola, an oil-rich country that is also attracting large amounts of Chinese investment.

對中國競購者來說，Novo Banco的另一個吸引之處是，該銀行擁有安哥拉Banco Econômico銀行9.7%的股權。安哥拉是個石油資源豐富的國家，也吸引着大量的中國投資。

As part of its rescue, Novo Banco received 4.9bn in fresh capital from Portugal’s bank resolution fund, which was bolstered for that purpose with the help of a 4.4bn state loan. The fund is owned by all the country’s banks and is Novo Banco’s sole shareholder.

作爲援救計劃的一部分，Novo Banco得到了一筆來自葡萄牙銀行處置基金的49億歐元的新資本。爲了救助Novo Banco，該基金藉助一筆44億歐元的國家貸款得到擴充。該基金歸葡萄牙全部銀行所有，是Novo Banco的單一股東。

Portuguese bankers seem torn. Some argue that the priority should be to sell Novo Banco to the highest bidder to recover as much of the 4.9bn as possible.

葡萄牙的銀行人士似乎出現了分歧。一些人認爲，當務之急應該是把Novo Banco出售給出價最高者，以儘可能收回那49億歐元。

Any shortfall will have to be paid for by the other banks. This favours the Chinese bidders, which have already made indicative offers well ahead of rivals.

所有收不回的部分將不得不由其他銀行承擔。這有利於中國競購者，中國企業的參考報價已經遠遠高於其他競爭對手。

Other Portuguese financiers say that the country’s banking system needs more consolidation. This could be achieved by selling Novo Banco to Santander Totta, the Spanish lender’s local subsidiary, to create the country’s dominant bank.

葡萄牙其他一些金融家稱，該國銀行系統需要更多的整合。這一點可以通過把Novo Banco出售給Santander Totta來實現，以此在葡萄牙打造一家占主導地位的銀行。Santander Totta是西班牙桑坦德銀行在葡萄牙的子銀行。

Santander Totta is the only Portuguese lender to have made a profit in its domestic operations over the past two years. But creating an even more powerful Spanish bank could spark political opposition ahead of Portugal’s autumn general election.

Santander Totta是葡萄牙唯一一家過去兩年在國內業務上實現了盈利的銀行。但是，今年秋天葡萄牙即將迎來大選，在此之際打造一家比以往還要強大的西班牙銀行，可能會引起國內的政治反對。

Another Lisbon banker said that the buyer of Novo Banco may seek protection clauses as part of the deal, to safeguard the bank’s assets from legal actions. Investors are attempting to recover their losses following the collapse of BES last summer.

另外一位里斯本的銀行人士稱，Novo Banco的收購方可能會在協議中尋求加入保護性條款，以此保護銀行資產不受法律訴訟影響。投資者正試圖彌補去年夏季必利勝銀行破產後他們承受的損失。