乐视在中国国内被控拖欠广告款

Ambitious Chinese technology group LeEco is being sued by a Chinese advertising agency for missed payments, in a further sign that the company’s cash flow problems are extending to its home country after a series of recent struggles in the US.

雄心勃勃的中国科技集团乐视(LeEco)正被一家中国广告代理商起诉，理由是拖欠账款。这进一步表明，经过近期在美国连番受挫后，乐视的现金流问题正在向其母国蔓延。

The case is the latest indication that the ambitions of LeEco to conquer the US consumer electronics market may have surpassed its ability to finance its investments.

这起案件再次显示出，乐视征服美国消费类电子产品市场的雄心或许已经超出其为投资进行融资的能力。

The lawsuits against four LeEco companies by Shenzhen-listed MIG Unmobi Tech, a mobile advertising company, cover Rmb61.6m ($9.07m) in missed payments, according to a stock exchange notice.

一份证券交易所公告显示，深圳上市的移动广告公司“明家联合”(MIG Unmobi Tech)对四家乐视系公司提起诉讼，涉及欠款金额6160万元人民币(合907万美元)。

The alleged missed payments are for advertising campaigns that finished at the end of last year. Around the same time, LeEco’s billionaire founder Jia Yueting wrote a letter to employees admitting the company had burnt through cash too quickly in its bid to expand.

诉讼中所称的欠款是去年底结束的广告宣传活动的账款。差不多同一时间，乐视创始人、亿万富翁贾跃亭向员工致信，承认公司扩张过程中烧钱太快。

Last month, LeEco announced it had laid off most of its US staff in a sign that it was pulling back from its ambitious plans to take on Silicon Valley giants including Apple and Tesla.

上月，乐视宣布已解雇其在美国的大部分员工，这意味着该公司正在收缩其试图与苹果(Apple)、特斯拉(Tesla)等硅谷巨头一较高下的宏伟计划。

Mr Jia resigned last month from his chief executive duties at Leshi Internet Information & Technology, LeEco’s main listed subsidiary, but remains chairman of LeEco.

贾跃亭上月辞去了乐视网(乐视主要上市子公司)首席执行官一职，但仍担任乐视董事长。

He led the company’s push into the automotive sector and has been criticised for focusing on cars at the cost of LeEco’s core businesses. This included backing Faraday Future, a Californian electric carmaker in which the Chinese group was the biggest investor.

他领导乐视进军汽车业，但因以牺牲乐视核心业务为代价去专注打造汽车而受到批评。这一努力包括投资总部位于美国加州的法拉第未来(Faraday Future)，乐视是这家电动汽车制造商的最大投资者。

MIG’s lawsuits add to complaints from LeEco’s suppliers over missed payments. The state treasurer of Nevada told the Financial Times last November that Faraday owed “tens of millions of dollars” to its US contractor Aecom for work on the still-unfinished electric car plant. LeEco denied this allegation. Faraday declined to comment.

明家联合提起的诉讼是供应商抱怨乐视拖欠账款的最新一例。美国内华达州财长去年11月对英国《金融时报》表示，法拉第未来拖欠美国承包商Aecom“数千万美元”，后者承建尚未完工的电动汽车工厂。乐视否认了这一指控。法拉第未来拒绝置评。

MIG is pursuing lawsuits over alleged missed payments totalling Rmb20m from Le Holdings — the holding company for the LeEco family of subsidiaries — as well as Rmb18.5m from LeSports and Rmb10.5m from LeMall.

明家联合起诉称，乐视控股(Le Holdings)、乐视体育(LeSports)及乐视电子商务(LeMall)分别拖欠了2000万元人民币、1850万元人民币和1050万元人民币。乐视控股是乐视系公司中的控股公司。

In addition, MIG is suing Leshi in two lawsuits for alleged missed payments of Rmb12.5m.

此外，明家联合在两起诉讼中指控乐视网拖欠账款1250万元人民币。

“We are working hard to resolve MIG’s complaints,” a LeEco spokesman said.

“我们正在努力解决明家联合提起的诉讼，”乐视一位发言人表示。

The group comprises a complicated network of subsidiaries, and indications of cash flow difficulties seem to be cropping up at the subsidiary level. Unlisted Le Holdings counts at least 39 subsidiaries in mainland China that are at least 51 per cent-controlled by the company.

乐视集团由一个复杂的子公司网络组成，现金流困难的迹象似乎在子公司层面突然爆发。未上市的乐视控股在中国内地拥有至少39家子公司，这些公司的绝对控股权都掌握在乐视控股手中。

Two months ago, Zhou Hang, the head of LeEco’s ride-hailing subsidiary Yidao, resigned in protest, saying LeEco took Yidao’s funds to cover debts elsewhere in LeEco.

两个月前，乐视旗下叫车公司易到用车(Yidao Yongche)负责人周航宣布辞职以示抗议，称乐视拿易到的资金偿还乐视在其他领域的债务。

Mr Zhou said LeEco had “misappropriated” Rmb1.3bn of Yidao’s funds to cover LeEco’s debts, leaving Yidao unable to repay its own borrowings. Both LeEco and Yidao denied the allegations.

周航表示，乐视“挪用”易到13亿元人民币资金偿还乐视的债务，致使易到无法偿还本公司借款。乐视和易到方面都否认了这一指控。

This year another Chinese supplier, Haosheng Electronic, sued LeEco’s subsidiary LeMobile for Rmb51.7m over missing payments, according to an exchange filing. The first payment was missed in December 2016, the same time that MIG’s payments were due.

根据一份交易所文件，今年，另一家中国本土供应商豪声电子(Haosheng Electronic)称乐视子公司乐视手机(LeMobile)拖欠其5170万元人民币账款，其已提请仲裁。其中第一期账款本应于2016年12月支付，这也是乐视应支付明家联合账款的时间。