中資競購澳大利亞供電企業受阻
HONG KONG — Citing national security concerns, the Australian government on Thursday rejected competing bids from Hong Kong and mainland Chinese groups for control of a company that supplies electricity to Sydney and neighboring areas.
香港——週四，澳大利亞政府以國家安全方面的擔憂爲由，拒絕來自香港和中國大陸的投資者提出的競購案，它們要收購的是一家服務於悉尼及其周邊地區的供電企業。
Key sectors of Australia’s economy, like mining and agriculture, rely heavily on Chinese demand. But local wariness toward China’s growing economic influence has risen in recent years amid a wave of Chinese takeovers of Australian businesses.
澳大利亞的一些關鍵經濟部門，比如採礦業和農業，嚴重依賴來自中國的需求。但近年來，隨着許多澳大利亞企業的控制權接二連三地落入中國人手中，當地人越來越憂心於中國日益增長的經濟影響力。
At the same time, an influx of wealthy buyers from China has helped push up real estate prices in urban centers like Sydney and Melbourne, pricing local residents out of the market.
與此同時，來自中國的富有買家大量涌入，推高了悉尼、墨爾本等城市中心地帶的房產價格，把支付不起高價的當地居民擠出了市場。
In response, the Australian government, in accordance with its foreign investment review legislation, has been carefully vetting the sale of key assets to Chinese interests and has blocked several high-profile transactions. Officials have also ordered Chinese buyers to sell homes acquired in violation of Australia’s restrictions on foreign investment in real estate.
作爲迴應，澳大利亞政府已經開始根據該國的外國投資審查法，仔細審查向中資企業出售重要資產之舉，而且已經阻止了若干宗頗爲引人矚目的交易。針對一些違反外資限購房地產規定的中國買家，政府也要求其出售所購房產。
In the latest such action, the Australian treasurer, Scott Morrison, on Thursday rejected the bids for 50.4 percent of Ausgrid, an electricity provider with a 99-year lease to distribute power in the southeastern state of New South Wales.
類似舉措的最新一例是，澳大利亞財政部長斯科特•莫里森(Scott Morrison)於週四拒絕了中國投資者對供電企業澳洲電網(Ausgrid)的競標。這些投資者本打算以一份爲期99年的租約取得澳洲電網50.4%的股權，並向東南部的新南威爾士州分銷電力。
Mr. Morrison did not name the bidders, but news reports in Australia last month widely identified them as Cheung Kong Infrastructure, controlled by the family of the Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing; and the State Grid Corporation of China, a government-owned electricity transmission and distribution company that is China’s biggest.
莫里森沒有對相關競標企業指名道姓，但上個月，許多澳洲媒體都曾認定，它們分別是由香港億萬富翁李嘉誠家族控制的長江基建(Cheung Kong Infrastructure，簡稱CKI)，以及國有的中國最大電力輸送和分銷企業國家電網。
“My preliminary view is that the foreign investment proposals put to me for this transaction are contrary to the national interest,” Mr. Morrison said in a news release. “National security issues were identified in critical power and communications services that Ausgrid provides to businesses and governments.”
“我的初步看法是，交到我手上的這些關乎該交易的外國投資提案與國家利益相悖，”莫里森在一篇新聞稿中表示。“澳洲電網爲企業和政府提供的重要電力和通信服務涉及國家安全問題。”
Mr. Morrison also emphasized the importance of foreign investment to Australia’s economy and, in separate comments to reporters on Thursday, said that the nationality of the bidders was not a factor in his decision, which focused more on the specifics of the proposed deals.
莫里森也強調了外國投資對澳大利亞經濟的重要性，並於週四另行告訴媒體記者，他主要是依據擬議中的具體交易內容做出了這一決定，競標者的國籍不在他考慮的因素之列。
“The national security concerns were not country-specific and relate to the transaction structure and the nature of the assets,” he said.
“國家安全方面的擔憂並非針對哪個國家，而是和交易結構以及資產的性質有關，”他說。
He said the bidders have until next Thursday to argue their cases before he makes a final ruling on the matter.
他說，在他就此事做出最終裁定前，也就是直至下週四，相關競標者都可以爲自己的提案辯護，
Representatives of State Grid did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
國家電網的代表未立即回覆置評請求。
Cheung Kong Infrastructure noted that it had been operating power, water and gas networks in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand for 25 years.
長江基建則指出，過去25年時間裏，它一直在英國、澳大利亞和新西蘭運營着電力、水和天然氣網絡。
“We believe that the Australian government must have reasons beyond the obvious which led them to make today’s announcement,” the company said in a news release. “The issue is unrelated to CKI.”
“我們相信，除了公開的原因，肯定還有其他因素導致澳大利亞政府在今天宣佈這樣的消息，”該公司在一份新聞稿中表示。“問題與CKI無關。”
Ausgrid’s coverage area includes Sydney, Australia’s biggest city, and covers more than 22,000 square kilometers, or about 8,500 square miles — an area roughly the size of New Jersey.
澳洲電網的服務覆蓋範圍包括澳大利亞最大城市悉尼，覆蓋面積爲2.2萬平方公里——與新澤西州大致相當。
Australian news reports had estimated a sale of the Ausgrid stake could have brought in more than 10 billion Australian dollars, or $7.7 billion, to the state government of New South Wales.
澳大利亞媒體估計，出售澳洲電網的股權或將爲新南威爾士州政府帶來超過100億澳元（約合77億美元）的進賬。
Both of the bidders are already significant investors in the Australian electricity market. State Grid has stakes in three local power companies, while Cheung Kong Infrastructure owns electricity and gas distribution networks in several Australian states.
在澳大利亞的電力市場上，這兩個競標者都已經成爲極具影響力的投資者。國家電網持有當地三家電力公司的股份，長江基建則在澳大利亞的幾個州擁有電力和天然氣分銷網絡。
Local business groups in Australia had lobbied for a more welcoming approach to the bids from China. They pointed out that the United States remains the country’s biggest foreign investor, with Chinese investment in Australia to date amounting to only one tenth of what America has spent.
澳大利亞當地的商業團體已經開始遊說相關方面以更加友好的方式對待來自中國的競標。它們指出，美國依然是澳大利亞最大的外國投資者，中國目前在澳大利亞的投資只相當於美國的十分之一。
Australia has blocked several high-profile deals involving buyers from China in recent years.
近年來，澳大利亞阻止了若干頗爲引人矚目的涉及中國買家的交易。
Last year, Australia’s treasurer at the time, Joe Hockey, ordered the head of Evergrande Real Estate Group, a Chinese developer, to sell a mansion he had acquired illegally in 2014 for 39 million dollars.
去年，澳大利亞時任財政部長喬•霍基(Joe Hockey)命令中國開發商恆大地產的老闆賣掉其在2014年斥資3900萬美元以非法方式購買的一棟豪宅。
In April, Mr. Morrison signaled his opposition to the acquisition of a cattle ranching company by a Chinese-led group. He cited the significant size of the firm’s sprawling ranchland, which covered 1 percent of Australia’s total area and 2 percent of its agricultural land.
今年4月份，莫里森就一個由中國投資者領銜的財團對一家畜牧企業的收購交易表示了反對意見。他給出的理由是，該公司的牧場面積過大，分別佔澳大利亞總面積和農地總面積的1%和2%。
Even some Chinese investments that went through have stirred up controversy. Concerns arose in October that an agreement by a Chinese company to acquire the port of Darwin, in Australia’s Northern Territory, could open the door to spying on United States Marines, who train there several months of the year.
就連一些已經獲得批准的投資項目也引發了爭議。去年10月，一家中國公司通過一紙協議，取得了澳大利亞北領地自治區達爾文港口的控制權，有人擔心這可能被用來監視每年在這裏訓練數月的美國海軍陸戰隊。
