復星集團重啓境外收購
Fosun Group remains committed to its global buying spree despite concerns that its earmarking of $6bn in assets for disposal signals a retreat from overseas investment, according to people who have advised the Chinese conglomerate.
爲復星集團(Fosun Group)提供諮詢的人士表示，這家中國民營企業集團仍致力於開展全球收購活動，儘管有人擔憂，該集團擬出售60億美元資產是有意撤出海外投資的信號。
The company, known for its leisure and entertainment holdings such as France’s Club Med and a stake in Canada’s Cirque du Soleil, plans to sell off steel and mining businesses while raising its stakes in global financial, health and tourism companies, the people said.
這些人士透露，以休閒娛樂資產——如法國的地中海俱樂部(Club Med)，以及在加拿大太陽馬戲團(Cirque du Soleil)所持股份——聞名的復星，計劃出售鋼鐵和採礦業務，同時增持其在全球金融、醫療和旅遊公司的股份。
During the past three weeks alone the group has bought up four companies on three continents for a total of $1.6bn. It has acquired Gland Pharma in India, UK football club Wolverhampton Wanderers and Brazilian fund manager Rio Bravo Investimentos, and has taken a stake in the Portuguese lender Banco Comercial Português.
僅在過去三週裏，該集團總計斥資16億美元，收購了三大洲的四家公司。它買下了印度製藥企業Gland Pharma、英國足球俱樂部狼隊(Wolverhampton Wanderers)和巴西基金管理公司Rio Bravo Investimentos，還入股葡萄牙商業銀行(Banco Comercial Português)。
But Fosun has suffered set backs over the past year, with several deals collapsing after the brief disappearance of its chairman in December. Analysts have questioned the group’s financial position and the ability of many of its overseas investments to generate a profit.
但復星在過去一年遭遇多次挫折，其董事長在去年12月失聯幾天後，數筆交易夭折。同時分析師們質疑該集團的財務狀況和不少海外投資的盈利能力。
“Fosun’s very high debt, the small profit contributions from acquired entities, and limited improvement in its operating cash flow remain key risks for its credit profile,” S&P Global said in a recent note.
“復星的債務很高、收購來的實體對利潤貢獻較小、營運現金流改善有限，這些仍是其信用狀況面臨的主要風險，”標普全球(S&P Global)在最近一份簡報中表示。
At the end of last year, the ratio of debt to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation at Fosun’s industrial operations was 16.9, up from 9.1 a year earlier, according to S&P Global.
標普全球數據顯示，截至去年底，復星的債務與利息、稅項、折舊及攤銷前利潤(EBITDA)之比爲16.9，高於一年前的9.1。
In view of the high level of debt and limited turnover from many of Fosun’s recently acquired businesses, Standard & Poor’s has kept its rating on the company at junk levels. Resources and steel have become sore spots, after both units made losses in 2015.
鑑於復星近期收購的許多企業債務較高，營業額卻有限，標普將其對該公司的評級維持在垃圾級。資源和鋼鐵已成爲痛處，這兩個部門在2015年出現虧損。
The resources business, which includes mining, lost Rmb436m last year, while steel lost nearly Rmb1bn. Some of Fosun’s newer businesses fared much better. Internet finance, for example, ran at a loss in 2014 but generated Rmb105m in profit last year.
資源業務（包括礦業）去年虧損4.36億元人民幣，而鋼鐵業務虧損近10億元人民幣。復星的某些新業務表現要好得多。例如，曾在2014年錄得虧損的互聯網金融，去年產生1.05億元人民幣利潤。
The announcement last week that Fosun had earmarked Rmb30bn-40bn ($4.5bn-$6bn) in assets for sale, or about 13 per cent of its total holdings, led to speculation that it was now making a retreat from businesses abroad.
上週復星宣佈將300億至400億元人民幣（合45億至60億美元）的資產——相當於總資產的大約13%——列爲待出售資產，此舉引發外界猜測該集團將撤出境外企業。
But the people who have advised Fosun on its global strategy said the plan signalled a redoubling of its strategy to invest more capital abroad, while attempting to ditch lossmaking assets.
但是，爲復星提供全球戰略建議的上述人士表示，該計劃標誌着復星將加強在境外投資更多資本的戰略，同時試圖脫手虧損資產。
By selling off these assets and paring debt, the company hopes to improve its credit rating. That in turn would lower the financing costs of running its insurance business and allow it to make more acquisitions, the people said.
通過出售這些資產和削減債務，該公司希望提高其信用評級。上述人士表示，這進而將降低運行其保險業務的融資成本，讓它得以進行更多收購。
Fosun and several other Chinese insurers have adopted their own version of the so-called Berkshire Hathaway model for funding growth, in which premiums from the insurance businesses fuel new investments. The lower the cost of financing Fosun’s insurance business, the lower the cost of making overseas acquisitions.
復星和中國其他數家保險公司都採用了自己版本的所謂伯克希爾哈撒韋(Berkshire Hathaway)增長融資模式，即利用來自保險業務的保費收入爲新投資提供資金。復星保險業務的融資成本越低，海外收購的成本也會越低。
