2018年经济学人 韩国财阀:三星的千亿美元投资(1)（在线收听）

Samsung rarely talks in public about its corporate strategy.

三星很少公开谈论其企业战略。

So when South Korea's biggest chaebol (conglomerate) announced with much fanfare in early August

所以8月初，当韩国最大财阀（企业集团）多少带有炫耀意味地宣布

that it would invest 180trn won ($161bn) over the next three years, on top of another boost in spending last year,

未来三年，将在去年九月促进支出的基础上，再投资180万亿韩元（1610亿美元）时，

observers noted that it came days after a meeting between Lee Jae-yong, the group's de facto leader, and Kim Dong-yeon, South Korea's finance minister.

观察员注意到在该消息宣布前，三星实际领导者李在镕和韩国财务部长金东兖进行了会面。

Was Samsung trying to commend itself as a good corporate citizen to a government that has pledged to rein in the power of the chaebol?

三星是否是想通过保证公司会放慢对财阀的控制，从而向政府证明自己是个良好的企业公民呢？

Shovelling spare cash to research and development seems sensible enough for a company facing declining sales of smartphones,

智能手机一直都是三星的摇钱树，而如今三星面临智能手机销售额下滑，

which have long been its cash cow.

那么将闲钱投入研究和开发之中，是非常理智的。

Both smartphones and semiconductors, another important source of profits,

手机和半导体都是其利润的重要来源，

look vulnerable to competition from China, where rivals can count on generous government support.

两者在与中国对手的竞争中看起来十分脆弱，因为这些对手可以依靠政府慷慨的支持。

That explains why around 90% of the extra money will go to Samsung Electronics, chiefly the chipmaking business.

这也就解释了为什么额外投资资金中的约90%会流入三星电子，主要是流入芯片制造业。

(Across the conglomerate, 25trn won has been set aside to dabble in artificial intelligence, biotechnology and other more speculative ideas.)

（纵观整个企业集团，已拨出25万亿韩元用于尝试人工智能、生物技术和其他更多投机行业。）

But investors, who have cooled on Samsung since May because of weak chip sales,

但是自5月起，由于芯片销量不佳而对三星冷淡的投资者

appear unconvinced that the plan will reverse a slowdown in profit growth.

似乎不相信这个计划会扭转利润增长缓慢的局面。

The share price has kept sliding this month, to its lowest level in over a year.

本月公司股价一直下滑，低至一年最低点。

This has fuelled suspicions that moneymen may not have been the plan's only, or even main, intended audience.

这更加刺激了大家的怀疑—投资者或许并不是该计划唯一或者甚至是主要的目标观众。