英闻天下——32 China's Overseas Acquisition On the Rise in 2012

　　"Canadian rules are the strongest anywhere in the world and as long as companies are following those rules, then everybody will benefit - the investment side from China, those receiving the investment in Canada, exploration will go ahead, jobs will be created, there will be more prosperity in both countries."

 

　　Stockwell Day, Canada's former Trade Minister, made the comments after the takeover of Canadian oil and gas giant Nexen by the China National Offshore¹ Oil Corporation.

 

　　The 15-billion US dollar deal, approved by the Canadian government in early December, is the largest overseas aquisition by a Chinese company so far.

 

　　The deal also marks the climax² of a wave of overseas acquisitions by Chinese companies in 2012.

 

　　As of November, the total value of overseas Chinese acquisitions had hit 27-billion US dollars, up 13.5 percent from a year earlier.

 

　　Ji Li is with the Beijing-based "Zero2IPO Research Center."

 

　　"As of November, Chinese enterprises finished 103 overseas acquisitions, worth 26.5 billion US dollars. The destinations of the investment were focused on developed markets, especially in Europe and the US. The deals covered such sectors³ as natural resources, high-tech⁴ and machinery⁵ manufacturing."

 

　　In Europe, one of the high-profile acquisitions was made by Sany Heavy Industry, China's largest construction equipment group.

 

　　Sany announced in July that it fully⁶ acquired Intermix GmbH, a German mixer-truck maker⁷.

 

　　Sany spent around 10-million US dollars to buy Intermix from founder⁸ Hans-George Stetter.

 

　　In the United States, Chinese companies have also made a number of acquisitions.

 

　　In September, Dalian Wanda Group completed its acquisition of AMC Entertainment in Los Angeles in a deal reportedly valued at 2.6-billion US dollars.

 

　　The deal has made Wanda the world's largest cinema owner.

 

　　Wang Jianlin is the chair of the Dalian Wanda Group.

 

　　He's describing the deal as landmark⁹ for Chinese companies taking the global stage.

 

　　"It's a demonstration¹⁰ of the strength of Chinese companies that a Chinese company can buy up a big US company. In the past, it was normal for US companies to acquire Chinese ones. I think now is a turning point. I believe that it will be a trend that more and more US companies will be acquired by Chinese enterprises in the next 10 to 20 years."

 

　　But the road to global expansion hasn't always been smooth for Chinese companies in 2012.

 

　　In October, US President Barack Obama blocked an attempt by Ralls Corp to acquire four wind farm projects in Oregon.

 

　　It's the first time a sitting US President has blocked a foreign aquisition in 22-years.

 

　　Ralls Corp is now suing Obama, claiming the President has overstepped his authority.

 

　　And during the same month, a US congressional panel warned that Chinese telecom firms Huawei and ZTE pose a security threat to the US.

 

　　The House Intelligence Committee says the two firms should be barred from any US mergers¹¹ and acquisitions.

 

　　William Plummer, Huawei's spokesperson in the US, says the allegations are dangerous political distractions¹³.

 

　　"These recommendations put at risk on American jobs. These recommendations put at risk hundreds of millions of dollars of investment from outside the US into this country. It is a political distraction¹²."

 

　　Ji Li with Zero2IPO Research Center says what Huawei and ZTE experienced is a reminder¹⁴ of the potential political hurdles¹⁵ Chinese companies might face overseas.

 

　　"Judging from the case of Huawei and ZTE, some foreign governments may adopt protectionist policies amid their sluggish¹⁶ economy. Under this circumstance, Chinese enterprises seeking for overseas acquisitions need to guard against these risks. "

 

　　The analyst¹⁷ is predicting Chinese companies' overseas acquisitions will continue to gather momentum¹⁸ this coming year.

 

　　But he cautions Chinese companies need to keep cool-headed, well-prepared and craft proper strategies to attain¹⁹ their goals.

 

　　For CRI, I'm Laiming.

1 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

2 climax   

n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点

参考例句：

• The fifth scene was the climax of the play.第五场是全剧的高潮。
• His quarrel with his father brought matters to a climax.他与他父亲的争吵使得事态发展到了顶点。

3 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

5 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

6 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。

7 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

8 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

9 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

10 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

11 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

12 distraction   

n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐

参考例句：

• Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注，不能有丝毫分神。
• Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。

13 distractions   

n.使人分心的事[人]( distraction的名词复数 )；娱乐，消遣；心烦意乱；精神错乱

参考例句：

• I find it hard to work at home because there are too many distractions. 我发觉在家里工作很难，因为使人分心的事太多。
• There are too many distractions here to work properly. 这里叫人分心的事太多，使人无法好好工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

15 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

16 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

17 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

18 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

19 attain   

vt.达到，获得，完成

参考例句：

• I used the scientific method to attain this end. 我用科学的方法来达到这一目的。
• His painstaking to attain his goal in life is praiseworthy. 他为实现人生目标所下的苦功是值得称赞的。