经济学人:中国互联网公司 合并是大势所趋?

 　　Business: Chinese internet firms Clubbing together 商业：中国互联网公司，合并

　　The merger¹ of Meituan and Dianping could herald² a bigger consolidation³. 美团外卖和大众点评的合并可能预示着更大的合并。

　　GROUP buying—in which discounts are offered on goods and services once a certain number of consumers have signed up—may be falling out of fashion in many countries,  团购——当一定数量的购买者报名时商品和服务便提供折扣——在许多国家它快要过时了。

　　with even America's pioneer, Groupon, slashing⁴ over 1,000 jobs last month, but it is still doing well in China. 即使是它的美国创始人，高朋团购（Groupon），上个月也裁剪了1000多个岗位，但在中国它依然出彩。

　　According to Analysys International, a research firm, bargain hunters there rang up 77 billion yuan ($12.1 billion) in sales through group-buying websites in the first half of this year. 根据调查研究公司易观国际显示，爱占便宜的人在上半年通过团购网站电话交易了770亿元（121亿美元）。

　　That is a rise of 168% on a year earlier. 这比去年同期增长168%。

　　Even more striking is news this week of a merger between the two biggest Chinese firms in the business, which may herald a broader consolidation in China's internet sector⁵. 最让人吃惊的本周中国两个最大的团购公司的合并，这有可能预示着中国互联网行业更广泛的合并。

　　Groupon has flopped⁶ in China, just as many other Western internet firms have done. 高朋团购在中国失败了，就像其他许多西方互联网公司一样。

　　This has left the field clear for local businesses. 这给本地贸易留下了缝隙区域。

　　On October 8th two Chinese companies which between them have about four-fifths of the local group-buying market said that they would combine. 10月8日，两个中国公司宣布他们将合并，它们占有中国团购市场的4/5份额。

　　Meituan, with about half of the market, will join forces with Dianping, which has about 30%. 有大约市场一半份额的美团外卖将加入有市场30%份额的大众点评。

　　The combined business will be worth perhaps $15 billion. 这个合并企业也许将市值150亿美元。

　　It will quash competition on one front of a costly⁷ proxy⁸ war now being fought by China's big three internet firms—Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent. 这将会取消代价高昂的代理战争之前的竞争，而战争由中国最大的三个互联网公司——阿里巴巴，百度和腾讯引起。

　　Alibaba has a stake in Meituan, while Tencent backs Dianping. 阿里巴巴在美团有股份，而腾讯支持大众点评。

　　The merged⁹ entity¹⁰ would dwarf¹¹ Nuomi, which has a mere¹² 14% share of China's group-buying industry. 合并实体将打压仅占有中国团购行业14%份额的糯米网。

　　It is fully¹³ owned by Baidu, which said in June that it would invest $3.2 billion over the next three years in this sort of e-commerce business. 它完全属于百度，6月宣布在未来三年将投资32亿美元在电子商务行业。

　　The deal marks an escalation¹⁴ in what seems to be an effort by Alibaba and Tencent to squeeze out Baidu and turn the Chinese internet's big three into a big two. 这次交易似乎标志着阿里巴巴和腾讯逐步扩大影响力来挤出百度，将中国互联网三大公司变成两大公司。

　　They have already joined up to try to create a dominant¹⁵ company in the online taxi-hailing business. 他们已经联合起来在在线打车行业创立了一个统治地位的公司。

　　At first each had backed a different startup in this area, but when Baidu gave financial backing to Uber, an American taxi-app giant, to expand its presence in China,  一开始他们在这个领域支持着不同的创业公司，但此时百度则提供经济支持给Uber，一个美国打车应用巨头，以此来扩大在中国市场的影响力，

　　Alibaba and Tencent merged their proxies¹⁶ into a firm now called Didi Kuaidi. 阿里巴巴和腾讯合并他们的代理成为一个叫滴滴快滴的公司。

　　Alibaba and Tencent merged their proxies into a firm now called Didi Kuaidi. 阿里巴巴和腾讯合并他们的代理成为一个叫滴滴快滴的公司。

　　The combination is valued at $15 billion. 这个合并公司市值150亿美元。

　　All of the big three firms have invested heavily over the past two years in everything from online-video services to travel portals. 从在线视频服务到旅游门户的所有方面，这三大公司比过去两年投资了更多。

　　On one estimate, there have been nearly $60 billion in internet deals involving Chinese firms so far this year. 据估计，今年以来中国公司在互联网交易有将近600亿美元。

　　Some consolidation is needed: in many corners of the industry there are too many competitors, most of which are unprofitable. 一些合并需要：在行业的困境有许多竞争者，且其中多数是不赚钱的。

　　But China's antitrust authorities, which have been soft on local internet firms, ought nonetheless to be vigilant¹⁷. 但对本地互联网公司手软的中国反垄断机构，即使这样也应该警惕。

　　Otherwise there will surely be more mergers¹⁸ like this one, as the industry's giants seek to create monopolies. 否则一定会有更多像这样的合并，而这个行业的巨头会探索创造垄断。

1 merger   

n.企业合并，并吞

参考例句：

• Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.对这项提议的赞同是合并的第一步。
• Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股东们将投票表决公司合并问题。

2 herald   

vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎

参考例句：

• In England, the cuckoo is the herald of spring.在英国杜鹃鸟是报春的使者。
• Dawn is the herald of day.曙光是白昼的先驱。

3 consolidation   

n.合并,巩固

参考例句：

• The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民，对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• The state ensures the consolidation and growth of the state economy. 国家保障国营经济的巩固和发展。 来自汉英非文学 - 中国宪法

4 slashing   

adj.尖锐的；苛刻的；鲜明的；乱砍的v.挥砍( slash的现在分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Slashing is the first process in which liquid treatment is involved. 浆纱是液处理的第一过程。 来自辞典例句
• He stopped slashing his horse. 他住了手，不去鞭打他的马了。 来自辞典例句

5 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

6 flopped   

v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的过去式和过去分词 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅

参考例句：

• Exhausted, he flopped down into a chair. 他筋疲力尽，一屁股坐到椅子上。
• It was a surprise to us when his play flopped. 他那出戏一败涂地，出乎我们的预料。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

8 proxy   

n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人

参考例句：

• You may appoint a proxy to vote for you.你可以委托他人代你投票。
• We enclose a form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting.我们附上委任年度大会代表的表格。

9 merged   

（使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中

参考例句：

• Turf wars are inevitable when two departments are merged. 两个部门合并时总免不了争争权限。
• The small shops were merged into a large market. 那些小商店合并成为一个大商场。

10 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

11 dwarf   

n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小

参考例句：

• The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
• The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀，摇摇头。

12 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

13 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

14 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

15 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。

16 proxies   

n.代表权( proxy的名词复数 )；（测算用的）代替物；（对代理人的）委托书；（英国国教教区献给主教等的）巡游费

参考例句：

• SOCKS and proxies are unavailable. Try connecting to XX again? socks和代理不可用。尝试重新连接到XX吗？ 来自互联网
• All proxies are still down. Continue with direct connections? 所有的代理仍然有故障。继续直接连接吗？ 来自互联网

17 vigilant   

adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的

参考例句：

• He has to learn how to remain vigilant through these long nights.他得学会如何在这漫长的黑夜里保持警觉。
• The dog kept a vigilant guard over the house.这只狗警醒地守护着这所房屋。

18 mergers   

n.（两个公司的）合并( merger的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Mergers fall into three categories: horizontal, vertical, and conglomerate. 合并分为以下三种：横向合并，纵向合并和混合合并。 来自辞典例句
• Many recent mergers are concentrated within specific industries, particularly in retailing, airlines and communications. 现代许多合并企业集中进行某些特定业务，在零售业、民航和通讯业中更是如此。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件