中國金融機構海外擴張的背後

Flush with cash and with an eye on Beijing’s reform agenda, China’s brokers, insurers and asset managers are on the hunt for acquisitions overseas.

資金充裕、關注北京方面改革議程的中國券商、保險公司和資產管理公司，正在海外尋找併購機會。

Mainland companies have been encouraged to look abroad for growth, part of Beijing’s “going out” campaign that has seen Chinese buyers snap up assets spanning natural resources, property and consumer brands.

中國內地企業一直被鼓勵去海外尋求增長，這是北京方面“走出去”戰略的一部分。在這一戰略下，中國買家搶購了自然資源、地產和消費品牌等一系列資產。

While the recent dealmaking fits that trend, analysts and bankers say these Chinese financial groups have a specific endgame — laying the groundwork for a time when mainland investors can invest more freely in international markets.

最近的併購交易情況符合這種趨勢，但分析師和銀行家表示，這些中國金融集團有一項特殊的艱鉅使命——爲中國內地投資者能更自由投資國際市場的那一天奠定基礎。

“Strategically it’s about getting the footprint and being able to service Chinese money,” said Hong Kong-based Bill Nichol, head of the financial institutions group in Asia Pacific at Deutsche Bank. “This is the vanguard of Chinese capital moving internationally . . . The aim is to build a Chinese-controlled platform for Chinese capital to move offshore.”

駐香港的德意志銀行(Deutsche Bank)亞太金融機構集團主管比爾•尼科爾(Bill Nichol)表示：“從戰略上來說，這是爲了獲得立足點和能夠服務於中國資金。這是在爲中國資本走向國際鋪路……其目的是建立一個由中國控制的平臺，方便中國資本走向海外。”

To that end, Everbright Securities last month paid $500m for a controlling stake in Sun Hung Kai Financial, a broker previously owned by Hong Kong’s Kwok family. That followed a December agreement by Haitong Securities to buy Banco Espirito Santo de Investimento, a Lisbon-based investment bank, for nearly 500m.

爲達到上述目的，光大證券(Everbright Securities)上月斥資5億美元收購券商新鴻基金融集團(Sun Hung Kai Financial)的控股股權。新鴻基金融集團此前由香港的郭氏家族擁有。去年12月，海通證券(Haitong Securities)簽署協議，斥資近5億歐元收購總部位於里斯本的聖靈投資銀行(Banco Espirito Santo de Investimento)。

Anbang Insurance Group has been one of the biggest spenders. It recently bought insurance, banking and asset management businesses in South Korea and Belgium, and more non-bank financial sector deals are expected to follow.

安邦保險集團(Anbang Insurance Group)是近期最大手筆的買家之一。它最近在韓國和比利時收購了保險、銀行和資產管理業務，接下來有望達成更多非銀行金融業務方面的交易。

Shares of brokers and insurers have soared over the past 12 months, enabling many to raise billions of dollars in fresh capital through share placements. Bankers expect more acquisitions to come, especially in Europe, where financial institutions are suffering from anaemic growth and the debt crisis.

券商和保險公司的股價在過去12個月大幅上漲，讓許多公司能夠通過配股募集數十億美元的新資本。銀行家預計會出現更多的收購活動，尤其是在歐洲——那裏的金融機構正面臨增長乏力和債務危機。

Chinese investors currently have limited scope for investing overseas. The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect has provided some rich retail investors access to Hong Kong-listed shares, while the tightly controlled “qualified domestic institutional investor” programme gives financial institutions an avenue to purchase overseas bonds and securities. But use of both schemes has been minimal.

目前，中國投資者投資海外的渠道有限。“滬港通”讓一些富裕的散戶投資者能夠買賣香港上市的股票，受到嚴格控制的“合格境內機構投資者”(QDII)項目則爲金融機構提供了一條購買海外債券和證券的渠道。但這兩個項目的使用率都非常低。

There are hopes of a more significant opening later this year with the long-awaited rollout of mutual fund recognition between Hong Kong and China, which would allow foreign asset managers to sell some of their products direct to Chinese investors. Mainland financial institutions want to be ready.

今年晚些時候，中國有望採取更加重要的開放舉措，啓動外界期待已久的香港和內地基金互認——該項目將允許境外資產管理公司將它們的某些產品直接銷售給中國投資者。中國內地金融機構希望爲此做好準備。

“We completely embrace internationalisation. As our clients expand abroad, of course we want to be there with them,” said one senior executive at a top-five mainland brokerage.

中國內地排名前五的券商的一名高管表示：“我們完全支持國際化。當我們的客戶在海外擴張時，我們當然希望和它們在一起。”

While many outbound Chinese deals have proved troublesome, lessons have been learnt, he added.

他補充稱，儘管中國企業在海外達成的許多交易出現了問題，但它們已經吸取了教訓。

“We’ve seen the integration problems that a lot of Chinese have when they buy foreign companies. Working together can be a big headache,” said the executive. “Most brokerages are going in cautiously. The approach is, first get the licence, then see how we do. Don’t take too many risks.”

這名高管表示：“我們看到，許多中國人在收購外國公司時出現了整合方面的問題。協同可能是件很令人頭疼的事。大多數券商都打算謹慎行事。方法是先搞到牌照，然後再考慮下該怎麼做。不要過於冒險。”

However, some in the industry have questioned the logic, price and pace of the recent acquisitions, which have sometimes seemed rushed or haphazard.

然而，該行業的一些人對近期收購交易的邏輯、價格和步伐提出了質疑，這些交易有時顯得操之過急或毫無章法。

“They’ve been given a mandate to expand overseas, at any cost,” said the head of equity trading at one investment bank in Hong Kong, who described the recent string of deals as “empire building”.

香港一家投行的股票交易主管表示：“他們獲得了不惜一切代價在海外擴張的授權。”該主管稱最近的一系列交易是在“打造帝國”。

“Strategically, it’s not clear what they are looking for, except a presence outside China.”

“除了在海外建立立足點，人們看不出他們還有什麼戰略目標。”