The US economy may be in the doldrums and the eurozone debt crisis is lurching from bad to worse. But for private equity investors looking for returns, China remains the flavour of the moment.

　　眼下，美國經(jīng)濟(jì)或許已陷入低谷，歐元區(qū)債務(wù)危機(jī)正愈演愈烈。但對于尋求回報(bào)的私人股本投資者而言，中國仍是當(dāng)下最受熱捧的市場。

　　Fundraising for China-focused private equity and venture capital has been unscathed by the global financial market turmoil. Having hit $20.8bn in 2010, fund raising activities are on track for another record year after having reached $18.6bn so far this year, according to the latest figures from Asian Private Equity Review.

　　專注于中國的私人股本基金和風(fēng)投機(jī)構(gòu)的融資活動在此次全球金融市場動蕩中毫發(fā)無損。根據(jù)《亞洲直接投資評論》(Asia Private Equity Review)的最新數(shù)據(jù)，2010年，此類融資規(guī)模達(dá)到208億美元，而今年迄今已融得186億美元，有望再次創(chuàng)下新高。

　　And while China’s budding private equity scene has long been dominated by big foreign players – think Carlyle, TPG and Blackstone – homegrown Chinese groups are catching up fast.

　　而盡管長期以來中國剛剛興起的私人股本行業(yè)一直被大型外國基金把持著——例如凱雷(Carlyle)、TPG和黑石(Blackstone)——但中國本土集團(tuán)正快速迎頭趕上。

　　Traditionally accounting for just a sliver of the overall fund-raising market, domestic renminbi-denominated PE funds have become a significant and growing force in China, representing a staggering 67 per cent of total funds raised in 2010, up from 18 per cent in 2007 according to APER.

　　以往僅占整個(gè)融資市場很小一部分的中國本土人民幣私人股本基金，現(xiàn)已成為中國一支重要、且不斷壯大的力量。根據(jù)《亞洲直接投資評論》的數(shù)據(jù)，2010年，這些基金的融資占融資總額的比例達(dá)到驚人的67%，而2007年還僅有18%。

　　“The development of locally managed funds in China has become a prominent trend that cannot be overlooked,” Robert Partridge, Ernst & Young’s head of transaction advisory services for Greater China, told beyondbrics.

　　安永(Ernst & Young)大中華區(qū)財(cái)務(wù)交易咨詢服務(wù)主管龐若柏(Robert Partridge)對本報(bào)beyondbrics專欄表示：“中國本土管理基金迅速發(fā)展，已成為一種不容忽視的趨勢。”

　　The funds’ rise, congruent with Beijing’s efforts to build up “national champions” in industries from banking to steelmaking and oil, has been accelerated by the changing regulatory environment in China.

　　中國監(jiān)管環(huán)境的不斷變化，加速了中國本土基金的崛起。這種崛起也與北京方面打造從銀行業(yè)到煉鋼、石油業(yè)等各個(gè)行業(yè)“國家冠軍企業(yè)”的努力相重合。

　　One advantage that RMB funds – both domestic- and foreign-managed – have over their dollar counterparts is that they can raise money from local investors. And over the past two years, the pool of local capital available has increased sharply as regulators changed rules to allow institutional investors – including government institutions, pension funds, insurance companies – to invest in PE funds.

　　人民幣基金（無論是本土管理還是外資管理的基金）相對美元基金的一個(gè)優(yōu)勢在于，它們可以從本土投資者手中融資。過去兩年，隨著監(jiān)管部門改變了規(guī)定，允許機(jī)構(gòu)投資者——包括政府機(jī)構(gòu)、養(yǎng)老基金和保險(xiǎn)公司——投資私人股本基金，可融本土資本大幅增加。

　　Meanwhile, the ever growing pool of wealthy Chinese individuals – flushed with cash and in search of diversification – has created another group of investors for local PEs to tap into.

　　此外，現(xiàn)金充裕、尋求多樣化投資的中國富人數(shù)量越來越多，形成了另一個(gè)本土私人股本基金可以開發(fā)的投資群體。

　　“There are clear advantages to RMB funds,” Sam Robinson, head of global investment at SVG Advisers, told beyondbrics. “RMB are not subject to as many regulations as dollar funds – such as exchange controls. They can move more quickly on deals because they are not hampered by the burden of foreign investment approvals and can invest in regulated industries that foreign PEs cannot.”

　　SVG Advisers全球投資部門主管薩姆?羅賓遜(Sam Robinson)對beyondbrics專欄表示：“人民幣基金擁有明顯的優(yōu)勢。人民幣所受的監(jiān)管約束不像美元基金那么多——例如外匯管制。由于不受外國投資批準(zhǔn)的束縛，并可以投資外國私人股本基金無法投資的受監(jiān)管行業(yè)，它們可以更加迅速地推進(jìn)交易。”

　　The flipside though according to Robinson is that RMB funds have unclear legal structures and unclear liquidity and exit strategies.

　　不過，羅賓遜表示，從另一方面看，人民幣基金的法律架構(gòu)較模糊，流動性和退出戰(zhàn)略也不明晰。

　　So what does the rise of homegrown Chinese funds mean for foreign players? Will this reduce investment opportunities and returns for them?

　　那么，中國本土基金的崛起對于外國基金而言意味著什么？這會減少它們的投資機(jī)會和回報(bào)率嗎？

　　“The challenge for the global firms is that they will be competing against the ‘favoured son’,” said Partridge from E&Y. “A company in China looking to raise money may see a RMB investor as having less closing hurdles, as well as ease in exiting.”

　　安永的龐若柏表示：“跨國基金公司面臨的挑戰(zhàn)在于，它們將要與‘寵兒’相抗衡。尋求融資的中國公司也許會認(rèn)為人民幣投資者的交易障礙較少，也較容易退出。”

　　Foreign PEs, for their part, have no plans to sit idly from the sidelines. Wall Street names that have launched RMB funds so far this year include:

　　對于外國私人股本而言，它們不會無動于衷地坐視這一切。今年迄今已推出人民幣基金的華爾街基金公司包括：

　　- Blackstone, which raised RMB 5bn in April

　　- 黑石，今年4月融資50億元人民幣

　　- Carlyle, which completed in July a second close of its RMB 5bn fund at RMB3.2bn

　　- 凱雷，其規(guī)模達(dá)50億元的人民幣基金于今年7月完成了第二輪融資，融資額為32億元人民幣

　　- Morgan Stanley, which announced in May plans to raise RMB 1.5bn with Hangzhou Industrial and Commercial Trust. The new fund will focus on investment opportunities in the province of Zhejiang

　　- 摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)，5月份宣布與杭州工商信托投資股份有限公司(Hangzhou Industrial & Commercial Trust)聯(lián)合融資15億元人民幣。這只新基金將專注于浙江省的投資機(jī)會。

　　- Goldman Sachs, which is seeking to raise RMB 5bn for a vehicle that it is forming in partnership with Beijing city government

　　- 高盛(Goldman Sachs)，試圖為它與北京市政府合資組建的一家基金融資50億元人民幣

　　In all, there are 89 foreign PE firms and 394 local PE firms operating in China at the moment, according to APER.

　　《亞洲直接投資評論》的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，目前總計(jì)有89家外國私人股本公司和394家本土私人股本公司在華運(yùn)營。

　　The attractions of China for foreign private equity firms are obvious. With the boom in leveraged buy-outs in Europe and the US over following the 2008 Lehman crisis, many see opportunities for deal making in China – where the (relatively) robust stock market has produced many a profitable exit.

　　中國對外國私人股本公司的吸引力顯而易見。隨著2008年雷曼(Lehman)危機(jī)之后歐美杠桿收購繁榮的終結(jié)，許多人看到了在華撮合交易的機(jī)遇——中國表現(xiàn)（相對）強(qiáng)勁的股市產(chǎn)生了許多獲利退出的機(jī)會。

　　“The principal exit for PEs continues to be IPOs,” Ian Coleman of PwC told beyondbrics. “There is little secondary buy-outs. Also because of Chinese banking rules on gearing, PEs in China can’t leverage to the hill to make money from financial restructuring. So they end up functioning more like venture capital – the majority of deals are non-control minority stake, pre-IPO type.”

　　普華永道(PwC)的伊恩?科爾曼(Ian Coleman)向本報(bào)beyondbrics專欄表示：“私人股本的主要退出方式仍然是首次公開發(fā)行(IPO)，很少有二次收購。同時(shí)由于中國銀行業(yè)對杠桿融資的規(guī)定，中國的私人股本不可能通過大幅舉債從財(cái)務(wù)重組中獲利。因此它們最終的運(yùn)作更像風(fēng)險(xiǎn)資本——大部分交易是收購沒有控制權(quán)的少數(shù)股份，所謂的IPO前融資模式。”

　　In this context, foreign funds – whose investor base tends to be skewed towards institutions rather than high net worth individuals – does offer an advantage over homegrown ones, said Robinson from SVG.

　　SVG的羅賓遜表示，在這種背景下，外國基金的確比本土基金擁有優(yōu)勢。外國基金的投資者群體往往偏于機(jī)構(gòu)，而不是高凈值人士。

　　“Dollar funds will always have a place because when you are trying to grow a busines, you want long term investors,” he said. “Money from wealthy individuals can go in a year or two but institutions will take a longer term view.”

　　羅賓遜稱：“美元基金總會占有一席之地，因?yàn)楫?dāng)你努力發(fā)展企業(yè)時(shí)，你總是希望擁有長期投資者。富人們可能只投資一兩年，但機(jī)構(gòu)們的眼光放得更遠(yuǎn)。”

　　Still, given the rapid influx of capital and increasing competition for deals and rising valuations in some sectors, questions are being asked about whether the Chinese PE market has not reached its peak.

　　盡管如此，鑒于資本迅速涌入、交易競爭日趨激烈以及一些行業(yè)的估值不斷上升，對于中國私人股本市場是否見頂也產(chǎn)生了疑問。

　　Ernst & Young – like others PE players beyondbrics has spoken to – remains upbeat about the sector’s prospects. As it writes in its latest report on private equity in China:

　　與beyondbrics采訪的其它私人股本公司一樣，安永仍然對該行業(yè)的前景感到樂觀。下面是安永就中國私人股本寫的最新報(bào)告：

　　“The recent sell-offs in the public equities markets afforded nimble firms an opportunity to capitalise on depressed valuations and enabled significant take-private transactions. These same dynamics, however, limited exit opportunities for many firms, especially those seeking an IPO.”

　　“最近的股市下跌為一些精明的公司提供了利用企業(yè)估值下降賺錢的機(jī)會，并讓一些公司能夠進(jìn)行重大的私有化交易。然而，同樣的勢頭限制了許多公司的退出機(jī)會，尤其是那些正尋求IPO的公司。”

　　“The rapid rise in activity has many observers asking if China’s market has reached unsustainable levels. Indeed the rapid influx of capital has led to increasing competition for deals and rising valuations in some sectors.”

　　“交易活動的快速增加讓許多觀察人士質(zhì)疑中國市場是否達(dá)到了不可持續(xù)的水平。實(shí)際上，資本迅速涌入已經(jīng)導(dǎo)致交易競爭日趨激烈和某些行業(yè)的估值日益上升。”

　　“Despite these near-term challenges, however the investment thesis remains intact. China is still in the very early stages of transitioning from its manufacturing origins to a consumer-driven model and with PE penetration just a fraction of that in developing markets, the opportunity to participate in the country’s growth trajectory is compelling.”

　　“盡管存在這些短期的挑戰(zhàn)，但投資理念仍然保持不變。中國仍處于從制造業(yè)源頭向消費(fèi)驅(qū)動經(jīng)濟(jì)模式轉(zhuǎn)變的初期階段，而鑒于私人股本在中國的滲透率與新興市場整體水平相比微乎其微，參與中國增長軌跡的機(jī)遇不容質(zhì)疑。”

　　There’s no doubt that there is a lot of buzz going around private equity investments in China. Whether the returns will continue to live up to the hype remains to be seen.

　　毫無疑問，圍繞中國私人股本投資會有許多興奮的討論。而回報(bào)是否能與宣傳相符，還有待觀察。