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中國(guó)有句諺語說，“失敗是成功之母”。過去20年間，外國(guó)投資銀行家在中國(guó)尋求業(yè)務(wù)時(shí)，已經(jīng)學(xué)會(huì)用這句諺語給自己打氣。他們絕不是那種輕易接受失敗的人。
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According
to the Chinese adage, "failure is the mother of
success". Over the past two decades, investment bankers -
never the type to accept failure lightly - have learned to live by
that maxim when seeking business in China.
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中國(guó)一家大型國(guó)有企業(yè)實(shí)現(xiàn)海外上市，可能需要數(shù)年時(shí)間，并耗費(fèi)許多周折。而大型國(guó)企赴海外上市，是外國(guó)投資銀行在中國(guó)的主要業(yè)務(wù)。
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The
wheels of Chinese bureaucracy turn so slowly that it can take
years, and a number of setbacks, to get a large state-owned
company to list on an overseas stock market - the mainstay of
investment banking business in China.
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據(jù)悉，高盛(Goldman
Sachs)在1996年就第一次與中國(guó)政府接洽，商談中國(guó)銀行(Bank
of China)國(guó)際業(yè)務(wù)部分的上市事宜，6年后，中國(guó)銀行才終于在香港首次公開發(fā)行。
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Goldman
Sachs is believed to have first approached the Chinese government
over listing the international operations of Bank of China in
1996, six years before the lender eventually launched its initial
public offering in Hong Kong.
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“在中國(guó)贏得一宗首次公開發(fā)行業(yè)務(wù)，是我們?cè)谌蛩械胤介_展的業(yè)務(wù)中，最為勞動(dòng)密集型的工作，”一位駐香港的資深投資銀行家說。
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"Winning
an IPO in China is the most labour-intensive work we do anywhere
in the world," says one senior Hong Kong-based banker.
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投資銀行必須先花費(fèi)數(shù)年時(shí)間，與政府官員和公司管理曾建立關(guān)系，然后才能贏得一筆令人矚目的大買賣，以及數(shù)百萬美元的顧問費(fèi)。
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Investment
banks have to spend years cultivating government officials and
company executives before they can claim a high-profile scalp and
a multi-million dollar fee.
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未來幾周內(nèi)，中國(guó)建設(shè)銀行(CCB)可能會(huì)指定摩根士丹利(Morgan
Stanley)擔(dān)任其主要上市顧問。建行將是中國(guó)四大國(guó)有銀行中第一家上市的銀行，預(yù)計(jì)它在紐約和香港的首次公開發(fā)行價(jià)值將達(dá)50多億美元。
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In
the next few weeks, China Construction Bank, the first of the big
four state-owned lenders to list, is likely to appoint Morgan
Stanley as the main adviser on its bn-plus IPO in New York and
Hong Kong.
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摩根士丹利之所以有望贏得這宗里程碑式的交易，主要原因是它在過去9年中在其與建行合資的投資銀行中投入了大量人力和財(cái)力。“摩根士丹利能贏得建行的交易，并不是因?yàn)?上個(gè)月)的陳述會(huì)做得好，而是由于此前已經(jīng)花了十年的努力，”摩根士丹利的一家競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手的管理人員說。
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The
main reason why the US bank is likely to win that landmark deal is
that for the past nine years it has contributed significant
amounts of people and money to an investment banking joint venture
with CCB. "Morgan Stanley did not win CCB in [this month's]
presentations, but during the preceding decade," says an
executive at a rival investment bank.
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高盛(Goldman
Sachs)、瑞士信貸第一波士頓(CSFB)和瑞士銀行(UBS)等摩根士丹利的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手，甚至連參與建行上市投標(biāo)的邀請(qǐng)都沒有接到。它們正在努力與其它幾家預(yù)計(jì)將上市的大型銀行接洽。
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Competitors
including Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse First Boston and UBS have
worked hard to get close to the other large banks expected to be
listed (see graphic) and were not even invited to bid for the CCB
mandate.
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雖然這些華爾街投資銀行的老板心里很急切，股東也充滿期待，因?yàn)椴粩嗍┘訅毫Γ状喂_發(fā)行的大部分前期工作都是免費(fèi)提供的，其中包括宴請(qǐng)、貴重禮品，以及專業(yè)建議。
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And
despite pressure from impatient Wall Street bosses and expectant
shareholders, most of the pre-IPO work - which includes wining and
dining, expensive gifts and professional advice - is done for
free.
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據(jù)研究機(jī)構(gòu)Dealogic估算，投資銀行去年在中國(guó)大陸企業(yè)首次公開發(fā)行業(yè)務(wù)中拿到的傭金達(dá)2億美元左右，但這幾乎還不夠它們?cè)谌藛T和招待上的支出。
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Last
year, investment banks shared some m in fees for IPOs of
China-based companies, according to estimates by the research firm
Dealogic - not nearly enough to compensate them for their
expenditure on people and entertainment.
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“任何一宗交易都很難盈利，”一位香港投資銀行家說，“但為了在中國(guó)贏得聲望、建立信譽(yù)，并能進(jìn)一步得到后續(xù)業(yè)務(wù)，我們還是會(huì)做這種生意。”
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"It's
very difficult for any single deal to be profitable," says a
Hong Kong-based banker. "But we do it for the prestige, to
build our credentials in China and for the follow-up
business."
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上月，當(dāng)中國(guó)銀行決定出售其香港上市子公司10%的股權(quán)時(shí)，它選擇了高盛和瑞銀作為承銷商，并付給它們一筆傭金，估計(jì)占18.8億美元股權(quán)出售收入的1%至2%。高盛和瑞銀曾是該子公司2002年上市時(shí)的顧問。
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When
Bank of China decided to sell a 10 per cent stake in its Hong
Kong-listed subsidiary last month, it chose Goldman Sachs and UBS
- the two advisers for the 2002 listing - as underwriters and paid
them a fee estimated at between 1 and 2 per cent of the .88bn
sale.
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要深入到中國(guó)的資本市場(chǎng)體系，需要長(zhǎng)期的前期努力，對(duì)于已經(jīng)失去、或從未得到中國(guó)政府重視的投資銀行來說，這是個(gè)難題。一些這樣的投資銀行正在竭力彌補(bǔ)，其中包括JP摩根(JP
Morgan)、德意志銀行(Deutsche Bank)和花旗集團(tuán)(Citigroup)。
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The
long lead times needed to enter the inner sanctum of Chinese
capitalism pose problems for those investment banks that have
lost, or have never had, the ear of Beijing's power brokers. Some,
such as JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank and Citigroup, are fighting hard
to catch up.
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據(jù)悉，JP摩根已邀請(qǐng)?jiān)文峥怂烧畤?guó)務(wù)卿的亨利•基辛格(Henry
Kissinger)出面，就參與建行上市一事游說中國(guó)政府。另有報(bào)道說，德意志銀行已求得德國(guó)總理格哈特•施羅德(Gerhard
Schr鰀er)的援手。花旗集團(tuán)則搬出美國(guó)前財(cái)長(zhǎng)羅伯特•魯賓(Robert
Rubin)，力圖與摩根士丹利共同擔(dān)任建行的上市顧問。據(jù)悉，德意志銀行和花旗集團(tuán)均曾向建行表示，若被選為上市顧問，它們將在建行首次公開發(fā)行時(shí)購(gòu)買部分股份。1999年，花旗集團(tuán)幫助中國(guó)海洋石油公司(CNOOC)赴海外上市失敗，因此被迫退出了這個(gè)業(yè)務(wù)市場(chǎng)。
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JP
Morgan is believed to have asked Henry Kissinger, US secretary of
state in the Nixon administration, to lobby the Chinese government
over CCB. Deutsche Bank is reported to have enlisted the help of
Gerhard Schr鰀er, the German chancellor. Both Deutsche and
Citigroup, which was sidelined after failing to list the oil giant
CNOOC in 1999, are believed to have told CCB that they would buy a
portion of the IPO if selected as an adviser. The US bank has
wheeled out Robert Rubin, the former US treasury secretary, to try
to win a place alongside Morgan Stanley on the CCB team.
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上述策略也許能夠奏效。據(jù)悉，瑞銀能意外入選中國(guó)銀行上市顧問團(tuán)隊(duì)，前歐盟貿(mào)易專員列昂•布列坦爵士(Sir
Leon Brittan)就在其中起到了關(guān)鍵作用。
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These
tactics can work. Sir Leon Brittan, the former European Union
trade chief, is believed to have played a leading role in UBS's
surprise inclusion on the advisory team for the Bank of China
listing.
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與動(dòng)力十足的外國(guó)投資銀行相比，外國(guó)商業(yè)銀行顯得比較低調(diào)。
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Compared
with the high-powered investment banking world, foreign commercial
banks have a low profile.
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對(duì)于外國(guó)商業(yè)銀行來說，它們唯一的選擇就是與中國(guó)本土合作伙伴建立合資銀行，才能從中國(guó)人手上1.3萬億美元的儲(chǔ)蓄中獲益。
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Their
only option is to enter joint ventures with local partners to tap
sintosthe ,300bn of savings held by the Chinese population.
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匯豐(HSBC)與花旗等一些銀行已取得成功。上月，它們的中方合作伙伴獲準(zhǔn)發(fā)行中外合作聯(lián)名信用卡。其他一些外國(guó)金融機(jī)構(gòu)，如與深圳發(fā)展銀行(SDB)建立合作關(guān)系的美國(guó)私人股本基金新橋(Newbridge)，則沒能取得成功。
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Some,
such as HSBC and Citigroup whose Chinese partners were awarded the
right to launch a co-branded credit card last month, have
succeeded. Others, such as the US private equity fund Newbridge
with Shenzhen Development Bank, have not.
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還有一些外國(guó)銀行，如渣打銀行(Standard
Chartered)，仍在中國(guó)尋求合適的當(dāng)?shù)睾献骰锇椤Ｋ鼈儠r(shí)刻牢記著：“失敗是成功之母。”
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Yet
more, like Standard Chartered, are still looking for a suitable
partner, remembering that "failure is the mother of
success".
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譯者/李功文
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