中企入股歐洲地圖企業(yè)遭美國(guó)監(jiān)管機(jī)構(gòu)阻撓

Chinese investors seeking to buy a stake in a European mapping company were told to “apply directly” to the US president after their €241m offer failed to win regulatory approval, according to one of the bidders.

試圖入股一家歐洲地圖企業(yè)的中國(guó)投資者提出的2.41億歐元的收購(gòu)要約未能獲得監(jiān)管部門批準(zhǔn)，其中一家競(jìng)標(biāo)者表示，他們被告知向美國(guó)總統(tǒng)“直接申請(qǐng)”。

Beijing-based NavInfo, a mapping provider for tech giant Tencent, together with Tencent and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC agreed last year to buy a 10 per cent stake in Amsterdam-headquartered Here to provide high-resolution maps of China for autonomous cars. The mapping technology company is owned by German carmakers Audi, BMW and Daimler, and US chipmaker Intel.

去年，總部位于北京、為科技巨頭騰訊(Tencent)提供地圖的四維圖新(NavInfo)聯(lián)手騰訊和新加坡主權(quán)財(cái)富基金“政府投資公司”(GIC)，簽約買入總部位于阿姆斯特丹的Here公司10%股權(quán)，以便為自動(dòng)駕駛汽車提供高分辨率中國(guó)地圖。Here是一家地圖技術(shù)公司，現(xiàn)有股東包括德國(guó)車企奧迪(Audi)、寶馬(BMW)和戴姆勒(Daimler)以及美國(guó)芯片制造商英特爾(Intel)。

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the US weighed in on the deal, which received the green light from German regulators in January, due to Here’s assets in Chicago. Cfius made NavInfo and its fellow investors go through multiple hoops, but did not ultimately approve the deal.

今年1月，這筆交易獲得了德國(guó)監(jiān)管機(jī)構(gòu)的批準(zhǔn)，但由于Here公司在芝加哥持有資產(chǎn)，美國(guó)外國(guó)投資委員會(huì)(CFIUS)也介入了這一交易。CFIUS讓四維圖新等投資者接受多道審核，但沒(méi)有最終批準(zhǔn)該交易。

“[Cfius] didn’t stop us from reapplying again, and actually recommended we apply directly to [US President Donald] Trump,” said NavInfo.

“(CFIUS)并未阻止我們?cè)俅芜M(jìn)行申請(qǐng)，而且實(shí)際上建議我們直接向(美國(guó)總統(tǒng))特朗普申請(qǐng)，”四維圖新表示。

“We think there are two main reasons: the whole atmosphere after the election has changed at Cfius, and we hear there are not enough employees,” the company added, suggesting the new and smaller team at Cfius was more likely to withhold approval.

“我們認(rèn)為這里有兩個(gè)主要原因：一是大選后CFIUS的整體氛圍發(fā)生了變化，二是我們聽(tīng)說(shuō)它連雇員都不夠，”該公司補(bǔ)充說(shuō)，暗示CFIUS規(guī)模較小的新團(tuán)隊(duì)更傾向于擱置批準(zhǔn)。

The Here decision comes at a time when China-US relations have been strained by Mr Trump’s harsh rhetoric against Chinese trade, as well as foreign policy disagreements over North Korea.

針對(duì)Here的決定出爐之際，特朗普在美國(guó)對(duì)華貿(mào)易上的強(qiáng)硬措辭，以及兩國(guó)圍繞朝鮮的外交政策分歧，都令美中關(guān)系陷入緊張。

Mr Trump earlier this month blocked a $1.3bn plan by Canyon Bridge, a China-backed private equity group, to acquire Lattice Semiconductor. Financial holdings company China Oceanwide is in the midst of re-filing an application to Cfius to acquire Virginia-based insurer Genworth Financial for $2.7bn.

本月早些時(shí)候，特朗普阻止了中資背景的私人股本集團(tuán)Canyon Bridge斥資13億美元收購(gòu)美國(guó)芯片制造商萊迪思半導(dǎo)體(Lattice Semiconductor)的計(jì)劃。金融控股公司中國(guó)泛海(China Oceanwide)正重新向CFIUS提交申請(qǐng)——以27億美元收購(gòu)總部位于弗吉尼亞州的保險(xiǎn)公司Genworth Financial。

As Beijing has moved to rein in an ambitious spate of offshore dealmaking by private groups, Chinese outbound investment by government-backed groups soared in the first half of the year to $28.7bn, despite scrutiny overseas over national security concerns.

隨著北京開始遏制民營(yíng)集團(tuán)一系列雄心勃勃的海外交易，有政府背景的中資集團(tuán)的對(duì)外投資在今年上半年飆升至287億美元，盡管在海外受到出于國(guó)家安全擔(dān)憂的密切關(guān)注。

“For the past six months [Cfius] has continuously asked us to change our application, but even the emails they gave us were very vague, and just mentioned ‘national security reasons’,” NavInfo said on Wednesday.

四維圖新周三表示：“過(guò)去半年里(美國(guó)外國(guó)投資委員會(huì))不斷要求我們修改申請(qǐng)，但他們給我們的電子郵件非常含糊，僅提到‘國(guó)家安全原因’。”

NavInfo said Cfius had told the consortium to refile its application, which it did, giving up investor rights such as shareholder votes, but the group still did not receive approval and does not understand why. The consortium decided to drop the deal rather than apply directly to the US president, NavInfo said.

四維圖新表示，美國(guó)外國(guó)投資委員會(huì)曾讓收購(gòu)財(cái)團(tuán)重新提交申請(qǐng)，該財(cái)團(tuán)照辦了，它放棄了股東投票等投資者權(quán)利，但該財(cái)團(tuán)仍然沒(méi)有獲得批準(zhǔn)，而且不明白為什么。四維圖新表示，該財(cái)團(tuán)決定放棄交易，而不去直接向美國(guó)總統(tǒng)提出申請(qǐng)。

The company added that although the decision changes its plans for shareholding, it will not affect its mapping projects with Here, with which it has a joint venture in China. NavInfo said it will cancel the loan it had arranged with BNP Paribas to finance its part of the acquisition.

該公司同時(shí)表示，雖然這一決定改變了其持股計(jì)劃，但不會(huì)影響其與Here的地圖項(xiàng)目，四維圖新與Here在中國(guó)有一個(gè)合資企業(yè)。四維圖新表示，將取消此前與法國(guó)巴黎銀行(BNP Paribas)為資助這次收購(gòu)所安排的貸款。

Tencent and GIC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

騰訊和新加坡政府投資公司沒(méi)有立即回應(yīng)置評(píng)請(qǐng)求。

Additional reporting by Rochelle Toplensky in Brussels

羅謝爾•托普蘭斯基(Rochelle Toplensky)布魯塞爾補(bǔ)充報(bào)道