经济学人215:重塑皮拉马尔

 　　Business

　　商业报道

　　Reimagining Piramal

　　重塑皮拉马尔

　　Blood, sweat, but no tears

　　流血，流汗，不流泪

　　An old Indian business house still has fire in its belly¹

　　作为印度一家老牌企业，皮拉马尔依然激情澎湃

　　WHEN his brother's death in 1984 is mentioned, Ajay Piramal , a big, calm man, still looks sad.

　　提起1984年他哥哥之死时，阿贾伊?皮拉马尔，这个高大冷静的汉子，仍然是面露悲伤。

　　That tragedy propelled him at the age of 29 to the helm of one of India's big, old and flagging business houses.

　　那场悲剧将29岁的他推上了企业舵手的位子，执掌印度一家正在衰落的老资格大型企业。

　　Since then he has run it with a stark² lack of sentimentality and with outrageous⁴ success.

　　从那时起，他在企业运营上没有半点多愁善感，取得了巨大的成功。

　　Having sold the crown jewels—a generic⁵-drugs outfit—in 2010, for $3.8 billion, he is now busy re-imagining the family firm for the third time.

　　2010年他将企业皇冠上的珠宝非专利药部门以38亿美元售出，现在，他正忙于家族企业的第三次重整。

　　Given his record, it is worth paying attention.

　　以他过去的记录来看，此事值得关注。

　　Piramal's first reincarnation came in the 1980s.

　　80年代，皮拉马尔经历了第一次重生。

　　The main textiles business was dying. Its workers were striking; its mills were outdated⁶ and packed into central Mumbai.

　　企业的主业纺织业正走向衰亡。企业的工人在罢工，陈旧的工厂拥挤在孟买市中心。皮拉马尔先生削减了员工，搬迁了工厂。

　　Mr Piramal cut staff and moved out. Today the land he freed forms a new business district, where snazzy towers sprout⁷ from the ruins of old factories.

　　今天，当年腾出来的地块形成了新的商业区，一座座时髦的高塔如雨后春笋般从老厂房的废墟上拔地而起。

　　Some textiles clans⁹ have since lived off their property. Others began new adventures.

　　一些纺织企业从此吃上老本，其他的转去开拓新的生意。

　　A branch of the Wadia family, old Mumbai royalty¹⁰, started an airline.

　　孟买历史悠久的瓦蒂亚皇室家族4旗下一个分支，开始经营航空业。

　　Piramal began making generic drugs for Indians, buying in 1988 the local unit of a British firm and then picking up similar operations from other foreign pharmaceutical¹¹ firms which had lost hope in India.

　　皮拉马尔则开始为印度百姓生产非专利药，他于1988年收购了一家英国制药公司的本地部门，之后，又轻松地与其他几家对印度丧失信心的外国药企完成了多宗类似交易。

　　Often multinationals¹² move in a herd¹³ mentality³, says Mr Piramal.

　　通常，跨国公司的行动带有从众心理，皮拉马尔先生说道。

　　By the late 2000s Piramal was India's third-largest drugs firm.

　　到本世纪头十年的末期，皮拉马尔成为了印度第三大制药公司。

　　This second incarnation ended abruptly¹⁴.

　　皮拉马尔的第二次重整戛然而止。

　　In 2004, with his brother's sons grown up, the clan⁸ split, apparently¹⁵ amicably¹⁶, with Mr Piramal's nephews and their mother taking the property and textile units.

　　2004年，他哥哥的儿子们长大成人，家族也随之分裂，皮拉马尔的几个侄儿和他们的母亲分得房地产和纺织部门，表面上还是一团和气。

　　In 2010 Abbott, an American drugs firm with a history of failing to crack India, bid a preposterous¹⁷ $3.8 billion for the Indian generic-drugs business, which had just $425m of sales.

　　2010年，一直未能叩开印度市场大门的美国雅培制药，对皮拉马尔年销售额不过4.25亿美元的非专利药部门开出了高得离谱的38亿美元收购价格。

　　It was a stiff price, says the diplomatic Mr Piramal, who had not expected the bid and says the negotiations¹⁸ over price took only a few hours.

　　这是个高昂的报价，老练的皮拉马尔说，他没有料到这个出价，而且协商价格只用了几个小时。

　　What now?

　　现在是个什么情况？

　　Mr Piramal has parked part of the proceeds by buying a stake in Vodafone's Indian arm, an arrangement that looks temporary.

　　皮拉马尔先生将部分交易收益投入对沃达丰印度公司的股权收购中，貌似这只是暂时的安排。

　　He is a critic of crony capitalism¹⁹ in India, which limits his options.

　　他总是批评印度的裙带资本主义，这使得他的选择有限。

　　The boom in infrastructure²⁰ in 2007-10, when well connected entrepreneurs milked government links, did not feel right, he says. Many are now in financial trouble and a few are under investigation²¹.

　　2007年至2010年，基础设施建设蓬勃发展，人脉广泛的企业家们与政府勾结而自肥，皮拉马尔对此感觉不对劲。很多这类企业现在深陷财务危机，有一些正被调查。

　　Instead, Piramal has three new areas of emphasis.

　　相反，皮拉马尔将重点放在三个新的领域。

　　One is a limited re-entry into property.

　　一个是有限地再次进军房地产业。

　　Land prices have dropped as some Mumbai developers have become overstretched.

　　由于孟买一些开发商扩张过度，地价有所下跌。

　　And there has been a recent crackdown on the corrupt²² nexus²³ between developers and officials.

　　近期政府又打击了一起官商勾结的腐败问题。

　　People like us were at a disadvantage, he says.

　　像我们一样的人吃了亏，他说到。

　　Now, at least for a while, they are not.

　　现在，至少暂时，他们没有吃亏了。

　　The second new area is health-care services in America.

　　第二个新的领域是美国的医疗服务业。

　　On May 16th Piramal spent $635m on Decision Resources, a Massachusetts firm that analyses and crunches²⁴ data on drugs and treatments.

　　五月十六日，皮拉马尔向马萨诸塞州一家名为决策资源的公司投资6.35亿美元，该公司从事药物与疾病治疗的数据分析与处理业务。

　　He is betting that treatments will become ever more specialised and that the buyers of drugs in America—state bodies and insurance firms—will become even more finicky and cost-conscious.

　　他的判断是，疾病治疗将会更加专业化，而美国的药品买家将会更加挑剔、更加注重节省成本。

　　Drug firms are outsourcing this kind of activity.

　　制药公司将此类业务进行外包。

　　That logic²⁵ seems to embody²⁶ a conventionally gloomy view of the pharmaceuticals²⁷ industry, which seems unable to discover enough new drugs or to protect its patents on old ones.

　　这种逻辑似乎体现了对于制药业习以为常的悲观看法，即人们认为制药业无法开发出足够多的新药，并且也无法保护已研制出的药品专利。

　　Piramal's third area of expansion is thus a surprise:

　　因此，皮拉马尔的第三个扩张领域出人意料：

　　Mr Piramal wants to invent new blockbuster drugs.

　　皮拉马尔先生想要创造出有巨大影响的新药。

　　Surely that is a business model as obsolete²⁸ as inner-city textile mills?

　　这不是和在城中心建纺织厂同样过时的商业模式吗？

　　Mr Piramal thinks not, especially if research and clinical trials can be shifted to India, where costs could be as little as a tenth of those in the rich world.

　　皮拉马尔先生并不这么认为，尤其是考虑到如果能将药物研发与临床试验从发达国家迁移到印度进行，成本将会降至十分之一。

　　We're hopeful that we'll discover new drugs and make breakthroughs, he says.

　　我们对发现新药并取得突破充满信心，他说。

　　We take a contrarian view.

　　我们的观点是逆势而为。

　　1.belly n.腹部

　　My belly is empty.

　　我肚子饿了。

　　2.outrageous a.过分的；骇人的

　　The princess spent an outrageous amount on clothes.

　　公主在穿着上挥霍无度。

　　3.reincarnation n.转世；再生

　　Buddhists²⁹ believe in reincarnation.

　　佛教徒相信投胎转世。

　　4.property n.财产；所有物；地产，房地产

　　The property was returned to the original owner.

　　财产已归还原主。

　　5.pharmaceutical a.制药的；配药的

　　Her brother is interested in pharmaceutical botany.

　　她的哥哥对药草感兴趣。

1 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

2 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

3 mentality   

n.心理，思想，脑力

参考例句：

• He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
• Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。

4 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

5 generic   

adj.一般的，普通的，共有的

参考例句：

• I usually buy generic clothes instead of name brands.我通常买普通的衣服，不买名牌。
• The generic woman appears to have an extraordinary faculty for swallowing the individual.一般妇女在婚后似乎有特别突出的抑制个性的能力。

6 outdated   

adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时

参考例句：

• That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
• Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。

7 sprout   

n.芽，萌芽；vt.使发芽，摘去芽；vi.长芽，抽条

参考例句：

• When do deer first sprout horns?鹿在多大的时候开始长出角？
• It takes about a week for the seeds to sprout.这些种子大约要一周后才会发芽。

8 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

9 clans   

宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派

参考例句：

• There are many clans in European countries. 欧洲国家有很多党派。
• The women were the great power among the clans [gentes], as everywhere else. 妇女在克兰〈氏族〉里，乃至一般在任何地方，都有很大的势力。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源

10 royalty   

n.皇家，皇族

参考例句：

• She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。
• I waited on tables，and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生， 甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。

11 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

12 multinationals   

跨国公司( multinational的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These local companies are only small fry compared with the huge multinationals. 同那些跨国公司比，这些当地的公司不过是小鱼小虾。
• Some people believe that the multinationals have too much power. 有人认为跨国公司的权力太大了。

13 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

14 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

15 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

16 amicably   

adv.友善地

参考例句：

• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The couple parted amicably. 这对夫妻客气地分手了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 preposterous   

adj.荒谬的，可笑的

参考例句：

• The whole idea was preposterous.整个想法都荒唐透顶。
• It would be preposterous to shovel coal with a teaspoon.用茶匙铲煤是荒谬的。

18 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

19 capitalism   

n.资本主义

参考例句：

• The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
• Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。

20 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

21 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

22 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

23 nexus   

n.联系；关系

参考例句：

• Shared ambition is the vital nexus between them.共同的志向是把他们联结在一起的重要纽带。
• Either way,the nexus between the consumer and consumer prices is important.无论那个方面，消费者与消费价格之间的关系是至关重要的。

24 crunches   

n.（突发的）不足( crunch的名词复数 )；需要做出重要决策的困难时刻；紧要关头；嘎吱的响声v.嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼( crunch的第三人称单数 )；嘎吱作响；（快速大量地）处理信息；数字捣弄

参考例句：

• I can't bear the way she crunches the sugar. 我简直看不惯她嚼糖的那副样子。 来自辞典例句
• Crunches with a twisting motion (to hit obliques) are excellent. 做仰卧起坐时加上转体动作更好。 来自互联网

25 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

26 embody   

vt.具体表达，使具体化；包含，收录

参考例句：

• The latest locomotives embody many new features. 这些最新的机车具有许多新的特色。
• Hemingway's characters plainly embody his own values and view of life.海明威笔下的角色明确反映出他自己的价值观与人生观。

27 pharmaceuticals   

n.医药品；药物( pharmaceutical的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the development of new pharmaceuticals 新药的开发
• The companies are pouring trillions of yen into biotechnology research,especially for pharmaceuticals and new seeds. 这些公司将大量资金投入生物工艺学研究，尤其是药品和新种子方面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

28 obsolete   

adj.已废弃的，过时的

参考例句：

• These goods are obsolete and will not fetch much on the market.这些货品过时了，在市场上卖不了高价。
• They tried to hammer obsolete ideas into the young people's heads.他们竭力把陈旧思想灌输给青年。

29 Buddhists   

n.佛教徒( Buddhist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Jesuits in a phase of ascendancy, persecuted and insulted the Buddhists with great acrimony. 处于地位上升阶段的耶稣会修士迫害佛教徒，用尖刻的语言辱骂他们。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• The return of Saivite rule to central Java had brought no antagonism between Buddhists and Hindus. 湿婆教在中爪哇恢复统治后，并没有导致佛教徒与印度教徒之间的对立。 来自辞典例句