中企入股欧洲地图企业遭美国监管机构阻挠
试图入股一家欧洲地图企业的中国投资者提出的2.41亿欧元的收购要约未能获得监管部门批准，其中一家竞标者表示，他们被告知向美国总统“直接申请”。
Beijing-based NavInfo, a mapping provider for tech giant Tencent, together with Tencent and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC agreed last year to buy a 10 per cent stake in Amsterdam-headquartered Here to provide high-resolution maps of China for autonomous cars. The mapping technology company is owned by German carmakers Audi, BMW and Daimler, and US chipmaker Intel.
去年，总部位于北京、为科技巨头腾讯(Tencent)提供地图的四维图新(NavInfo)联手腾讯和新加坡主权财富基金“政府投资公司”(GIC)，签约买入总部位于阿姆斯特丹的Here公司10%股权，以便为自动驾驶汽车提供高分辨率中国地图。Here是一家地图技术公司，现有股东包括德国车企奥迪(Audi)、宝马(BMW)和戴姆勒(Daimler)以及美国芯片制造商英特尔(Intel)。
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the US weighed in on the deal, which received the green light from German regulators in January, due to Here’s assets in Chicago. Cfius made NavInfo and its fellow investors go through multiple hoops, but did not ultimately approve the deal.
今年1月，这笔交易获得了德国监管机构的批准，但由于Here公司在芝加哥持有资产，美国外国投资委员会(CFIUS)也介入了这一交易。CFIUS让四维图新等投资者接受多道审核，但没有最终批准该交易。
“[Cfius] didn’t stop us from reapplying again, and actually recommended we apply directly to [US President Donald] Trump,” said NavInfo.
“(CFIUS)并未阻止我们再次进行申请，而且实际上建议我们直接向(美国总统)特朗普申请，”四维图新表示。
“We think there are two main reasons: the whole atmosphere after the election has changed at Cfius, and we hear there are not enough employees,” the company added, suggesting the new and smaller team at Cfius was more likely to withhold approval.
“我们认为这里有两个主要原因：一是大选后CFIUS的整体氛围发生了变化，二是我们听说它连雇员都不够，”该公司补充说，暗示CFIUS规模较小的新团队更倾向于搁置批准。
The Here decision comes at a time when China-US relations have been strained by Mr Trump’s harsh rhetoric against Chinese trade, as well as foreign policy disagreements over North Korea.
针对Here的决定出炉之际，特朗普在美国对华贸易上的强硬措辞，以及两国围绕朝鲜的外交政策分歧，都令美中关系陷入紧张。
Mr Trump earlier this month blocked a $1.3bn plan by Canyon Bridge, a China-backed private equity group, to acquire Lattice Semiconductor. Financial holdings company China Oceanwide is in the midst of re-filing an application to Cfius to acquire Virginia-based insurer Genworth Financial for $2.7bn.
本月早些时候，特朗普阻止了中资背景的私人股本集团Canyon Bridge斥资13亿美元收购美国芯片制造商莱迪思半导体(Lattice Semiconductor)的计划。金融控股公司中国泛海(China Oceanwide)正重新向CFIUS提交申请——以27亿美元收购总部位于弗吉尼亚州的保险公司Genworth Financial。
As Beijing has moved to rein in an ambitious spate of offshore dealmaking by private groups, Chinese outbound investment by government-backed groups soared in the first half of the year to $28.7bn, despite scrutiny overseas over national security concerns.
随着北京开始遏制民营集团一系列雄心勃勃的海外交易，有政府背景的中资集团的对外投资在今年上半年飙升至287亿美元，尽管在海外受到出于国家安全担忧的密切关注。
“For the past six months [Cfius] has continuously asked us to change our application, but even the emails they gave us were very vague, and just mentioned ‘national security reasons’,” NavInfo said on Wednesday.
四维图新周三表示：“过去半年里(美国外国投资委员会)不断要求我们修改申请，但他们给我们的电子邮件非常含糊，仅提到‘国家安全原因’。”
NavInfo said Cfius had told the consortium to refile its application, which it did, giving up investor rights such as shareholder votes, but the group still did not receive approval and does not understand why. The consortium decided to drop the deal rather than apply directly to the US president, NavInfo said.
四维图新表示，美国外国投资委员会曾让收购财团重新提交申请，该财团照办了，它放弃了股东投票等投资者权利，但该财团仍然没有获得批准，而且不明白为什么。四维图新表示，该财团决定放弃交易，而不去直接向美国总统提出申请。
The company added that although the decision changes its plans for shareholding, it will not affect its mapping projects with Here, with which it has a joint venture in China. NavInfo said it will cancel the loan it had arranged with BNP Paribas to finance its part of the acquisition.
该公司同时表示，虽然这一决定改变了其持股计划，但不会影响其与Here的地图项目，四维图新与Here在中国有一个合资企业。四维图新表示，将取消此前与法国巴黎银行(BNP Paribas)为资助这次收购所安排的贷款。
Tencent and GIC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
腾讯和新加坡政府投资公司没有立即回应置评请求。
Additional reporting by Rochelle Toplensky in Brussels
罗谢尔•托普兰斯基(Rochelle Toplensky)布鲁塞尔补充报道
