经济学人264:腾讯的价值

　　E-commerce
电子商务
Tencent’s worth
腾讯的价值
A Chinese internet firm finds a better way to make money
一家中国互联网公司找到了更好的赚钱方式
Sep 21st 2013 | SHANGHAI |From the print edition
IS TENCENT one of the world’s greatest internet firms? There are grounds for scepticism. The Chinese gaming and social-media firm started in the same way many local internet firms have: by copying Western success. QQ, its instant-messaging service, was a clone of ICQ, an Israeli invention acquired by AOL of America. And unlike global internet giants such as Google and Twitter, Tencent still makes its money in its protected home market.
腾讯是世界上最大的互联网公司之一吗？有持怀疑态度的理由。这个中国游戏和社交媒体公司跟许多本土互联网公司一样以同样的方式起步：通过抄袭西方的成功模式。腾讯的即时通讯服务QQ是一家被美国AOL收购的以色列发明的ICQ的翻版。而区别于谷歌和twitter等全球互联网巨头，腾讯仍然只在受保护的本土市场圈钱。
Yet the Chinese firm’s stockmarket valuation briefly¹ crossed the $100 billion mark this week for the first time. Given that the valuation of Facebook, the world’s leading social-media firm, itself crossed that threshold only a few weeks ago, it is reasonable to wonder whether Tencent is worth so much. However, Tencent now has bigger revenues and profits than Facebook. In the first half of this year Tencent enjoyed revenues of $4.5 billion and gross profits of $2.5 billion, whereas Facebook saw revenues of $3.3 billion and gross profits of $935m.
然而，这家中国公司的股市估值这周首次超过了1000亿美元大关。鉴于全球领先的社交媒体公司facebook的估值只在几周之前才跨过这道门槛，所以换衣腾讯的市值是有道理的。然而，腾讯现在的收入和利润都比facebook多。今年前半年腾讯营收达到45亿美元，而总利润达到25亿美元，而facebook营收只有33亿美元，总利润只有9.35亿美元。
The Chinese firm’s market value reflects the phenomenal rise in its share price. A study out this week from the Boston Consulting Group found that Tencent had the highest shareholder² total return (share-price appreciation³ plus dividends) of any large firm globally from 2008 to 2012—topping Amazon and even Apple.
这家中国公司的市场价值反映在其股价的惊人崛起上。这周波士顿咨询集团的一项研究发现，自2008年到2012年，在全球所有大公司中，腾讯拥有最高的股东总回报（股价升值加上分红），超过了亚马逊甚至苹果。
Tencent has created a better business model than its Western peers. Many internet firms build a customer base by giving things away, be they search results or social-networking tools. They then seek to monetise their users, usually turning to online advertising⁴. Google is a glorious example. Other firms try to make e-commerce work. But as the case of revenue-rich but profit-poor Amazon suggests, this can also be a hard slog.
腾讯比起西方同行创造了一个更好的商业模式。许多互联网公司基于送给人们东西作为搜索结果或者社交工具来让其成为消费者。他们接着寻求在他们用户身上套现，通常是提供在线广告。谷歌就是一个光辉典范。其他公司尝试电子商务活动。但是收入丰富但是利润甚微的亚马逊表明这也是一条艰难的路。
Tencent does give its services away: QQ is used by 800m people, and its WeChat social-networking app (which initially⁵ resembled America’s WhatsApp) has several hundred million users. What makes it different from Western rivals is the way it uses these to peddle⁶ online games and other revenue-raising offerings.
腾讯也给用户提供服务，有8亿人使用QQ，其微信社交应用（最初类似于Whatsapp）有几百万用户。其区别于西方对手的招数在于使用这些工具兜售在线游戏以及其他增加收入的服务。
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Once users are hooked on a popular game, Tencent then persuades them to pay for “value-added services” such as fancy weapons, snazzy costumes for their avatars and online VIP rooms. Whereas its peers are still making most of their money from advertising, Fathom⁷ China, a research firm, reckons Tencent gets 80% of its revenues from such kit⁸ (see chart).
一旦用户迷上一个受欢迎的游戏，腾讯就会劝说他们为增值服务付钱，比如更花哨的武器，他们卡通形象时髦的衣服还有在线VIP房间。鉴于其通航扔人通过广告赚钱，一家调查公司Fathom China认为腾讯通过上述工具的收益占到总收益的80%。
This year China has overtaken America to become the world’s biggest e-commerce market, in terms of sales. It is also now the biggest market for smartphones. This means it may soon have the world’s dominant⁹ market in “m-commerce”, purchases on mobile devices.
今年中国超过美国成为世界上销售额最大的电子商务市场。现在中国也是世界上最大的智能手机市场。这意味着中国可能很快成为世界上移动支付市场的主导市场。
Tencent’s main rivals in Chinese m-commerce are Baidu, which dominates search on desktop¹⁰ computers (helped by the government’s suppression of Google) and Alibaba, an e-commerce giant now preparing for a huge share offering. All three have gone on acquisition sprees, in an attempt to lead the market. The big worry for investors¹¹ is the cost of this arms race.
腾讯在中国移动支付市场的最大对手是百度，主导了桌面电脑搜索市场（受益于中国政府对谷歌的镇压），还有阿里巴巴，现在准备上市的电商巨头。这三个公司正在进行疯狂收购，试图主导市场。投资者最大的担忧就是这场军备竞赛的成本。
Alibaba recently invested $300m in AutoNavi, an online-mapping firm, and nearly $600m in Sina Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter. Baidu has been even more ambitious, spending $1.85 billion to buy 91 Wireless¹², the country’s biggest third-party store for smartphone apps, and $370m for PPS, an online-video firm.
阿里巴巴最近向高德地图投资3亿美元，向新浪微博投资6亿美元。百度更有野心，花费18.5亿美元购买了中国最大的第三方智能手机软件商店91无线，同时花费3.7亿美元购买了在线视频公司PPS。
Tencent may have an edge over its two rivals in m-commerce because of the wild popularity of WeChat, which is used on mobile phones. But to ensure it stays in the race, it is also spending heavily. On September 16th it said it will spend $448m to acquire a big stake in Sogou, an online-search firm; it plans to merge¹³ its own flagging search engine (aptly named Soso) into the venture. It had previously¹⁴ invested in Didi Dache, China’s largest taxi-hailing app, and is rumoured¹⁵ to be interested in online travel and dating firms too.
腾讯在移动支付方面比起它的两个竞争对手可能有优势，由于微信在智能手机上的流行。但是为了保证其留在竞争中，腾讯也花费重金。9月16日，腾讯表示它将花费4.48亿美元购买在线搜索公司搜狗一大笔股份，计划将其萎靡不振的搜索引擎搜搜合并到合资企业中。此前，腾讯投资中国最大的打车应用滴滴打车，传言对在线旅游和约会公司也有兴趣。
The three Goliaths are buying up innovative¹⁶ firms because they are too big and bureaucratic¹⁷ to create things themselves, mutter some entrepreneurs (presumably not those being bought out handsomely). A more pressing worry for Tencent’s shareholders¹⁸ is that its lavish¹⁹ spending, on top of heavy investment in improving its unimpressive e-commerce offerings, will eat into profits. Worse, the m-commerce arms race risks distracting it from gaming and value-added services, the cash cows that are paying for everything else. A $100 billion valuation might then seem too rich.
一些企业家说到，这三个巨头购买创新型企业因为他们太大太官僚，很难自己创造事物。大概不是出资那些被收购的公司之口。腾讯股东更担心的是公司花费大量资金，投资改善其不起眼的电子商务产品会侵吞利润。更糟糕的是，移动支付市场的军备竞赛风险分散了其在游戏和增值服务商的注意力，公司正在投资其他东西。1000亿美元的估值可能太高了。

1 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

2 shareholder   

n.股东，股票持有人

参考例句：

• The account department have prepare a financial statement for the shareholder.财务部为股东准备了一份财务报表。
• A shareholder may transfer his shares in accordance with the law.股东持有的股份可以依法转让。

3 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

4 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

5 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

6 peddle   

vt.(沿街)叫卖，兜售；宣传，散播

参考例句：

• She loves to peddle gossip round the village.她喜欢在村里到处说闲话。
• Street vendors peddle their goods along the sidewalk.街头摊贩沿著人行道兜售他们的商品。

7 fathom   

v.领悟，彻底了解

参考例句：

• I really couldn't fathom what he was talking about.我真搞不懂他在说些什么。
• What these people hoped to achieve is hard to fathom.这些人希望实现些什么目标难以揣测。

8 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

9 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

10 desktop   

n.桌面管理系统程序；台式

参考例句：

• My computer is a desktop computer of excellent quality.我的计算机是品质卓越的台式计算机。
• Do you know which one is better,a laptop or a desktop?你知道哪一种更好，笔记本还是台式机？

11 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

12 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

13 merge   

v.(使)结合，(使)合并，(使)合为一体

参考例句：

• I can merge my two small businesses into a large one.我可以将我的两家小商店合并为一家大商行。
• The directors have decided to merge the two small firms together.董事们已决定把这两家小商号归并起来。

14 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

15 rumoured   

adj.谣传的；传说的；风

参考例句：

• It has been so rumoured here. 此间已有传闻。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• It began to be rumoured that the jury would be out a long while. 有人传说陪审团要退场很久。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

16 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

17 bureaucratic   

adj.官僚的，繁文缛节的

参考例句：

• The sweat of labour washed away his bureaucratic airs.劳动的汗水冲掉了他身上的官气。
• In this company you have to go through complex bureaucratic procedures just to get a new pencil.在这个公司里即使是领一支新铅笔，也必须通过繁琐的手续。

18 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

19 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。