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Saturday, November 19, 2005

Cracking Down on Unethical Lawyers

Cracking Down on Unethical Lawyers

February 27, 2005
Cracking Down on Unethical Lawyers
By FRAN SILVERMAN
KIMBERLY DROSOS thought the sale of her Norwalk home was a done deal. She had quickly found buyers for it last summer, signed the closing documents in August, and bought a new home using her profit from the sale as a down payment. But a month later, Ms. Drosos received bills from the banks that held her mortgage and her home equity loans, both of which were supposed to be paid off from the proceeds of the sale. When she called her lawyers who handled the sale, she said, she was stonewalled.

As the notices from the banks mounted, and her calls and questions to the lawyers went unanswered, Ms. Drosos went to the police in December. On Jan. 20, the lawyers, Stephen Feinstein and his father and law partner, Norton Feinstein, were arrested and charged with first-degree larceny and conspiracy to commit larceny. The police said the lawyers had never paid off Ms. Drosos' mortgage or equity loan totaling more than $400,000. Their Norwalk law firm is now in the hands of a court-appointed trustee and their office is for sale.

Meanwhile, Ms. Drosos said she is facing a financial nightmare. She is liable for the $388,884 mortgage still owed on her Linden Heights home and $37,789 on a home equity loan, possible liens on her new home and a potentially crippled credit rating.

''I just couldn't believe something like this could happen,'' she said.

Lawyers representing the Feinsteins say their clients are innocent. Mark Phillips, a Stamford lawyer who is representing Stephen Feinstein, said sloppy bookkeeping by the Feinsteins' firm could be the cause of the problem.

''There is a real possibility that this is nothing more than very poor record keeping and is not at all sinister,'' Mr. Phillips said.

Norton Feinstein's lawyer, Robert Bello, would not comment on the case.

Investigators for the Connecticut Judicial Branch said there were other complaints about the Feinsteins regarding property closings and probate settlements. The investigators said that more than $2 million is missing from client accounts.

In November, Norton Feinstein gave up his law license and ability to practice law in the state, and Stephen Feinstein's license was suspended.

The investigators said that although it does not happen often, other lawyers in the past had also been charged with stealing client funds.

''Ninety-nine percent of attorneys are perfectly honest people,'' said Paul E. Murray, deputy chief state's attorney. ''But any time you have a large population of people doing any particular job, there will be a small percentage of bad apples.''

One of the largest cases of fraud in the state was in 1996, when two Wallingford lawyers, John A. Carrozzella and his partner, Thomas Richardson Jr., were convicted of defrauding 245 clients of $13 million.

In 1987, Richard L. Nahley, a Danbury lawyer and probate judge, hanged himself after allegations he had stolen about $3 million from clients.

Most recently, Sheri Paige, a lawyer who practiced in Norwalk, was charged with larceny for what the chief state's attorney said was misappropriating more than $400,000 from the estate of an elderly client. She resigned from the Connecticut bar on Feb. 16.

''She maintains that she is absolutely innocent and we believe that if the criminal case is tried she will be acquitted,'' said Ms. Paige's lawyer, Geoffrey Brandner of Stamford.

If the fraud involves real estate transactions, victims not only can lose the money invested in their homes, but also be taken to court themselves for failure to pay their debts on their property.

Officials with the Judicial Branch, however, said grievance procedures against lawyers have been strengthened, making it easier for the state to step in and for clients to recoup lost funds.

In the past, clients would have to file a complaint against a lawyer with the Statewide Grievance Committee, which assists the Judicial Branch in disciplining lawyers. The committee would investigate and vote to either take no action, suspend or revoke a lawyer's license. Last year, however, the Judicial Branch created a chief disciplinary counsel's office to investigate complaints against lawyers. The office has subpoena powers and is automatically notified if a law firm starts to bounce checks. The counsel can take lawyers before a judge to suspend or revoke their license if probable cause is found. The counsel's office can also turn evidence of malfeasance over to the state attorney's office for criminal investigation.

Mark Dubois, the state's chief disciplinary counsel, said his office had helped the judicial system take action against unethical lawyers and advocates for clients. He said he had even written letters to credit rating agencies to help protect victim's credit scores.

Since Mr. Dubois became chief disciplinary counsel in January 2004, eight lawyers have been suspended or disbarred for stealing substantial amounts of money from their clients. Five of the eight lawyers were from Fairfield County and the money they were accused of stealing totals about $7 million.

Mr. Dubois said he started investigating the Feinstein firm in the summer after he received overdraft notices and initially thought the lawyers were just having bookkeeping problems. It was not until November that he was able to find probable cause, he said. Meanwhile, Ms. Drosos hired the firm to handle her August closing.

Clients who have been defrauded can apply for reimbursement from the Client Security Fund, which was created in 1999. The fund, which used to be operated by the Connecticut Bar Association, is run by the judicial branch through a committee that includes lawyers and judges who investigate and decide on claims.

Each year, lawyers and judges in the state have to pay $75 toward the fund, which has a balance of $5 million. Last year, the fund paid $2.1 million toward 43 claims, although it denied 61 claims. The fund does not reimburse clients who claim that lawyers billed them for work they did not do, or for malpractice.

Christopher Blanchard, staff lawyer for the fund, said clients could be reimbursed the full amount of their lost money if a claim is approved. However, the process can take up to two years, Mr. Blanchard said.

Malpractice insurance provides some protection for clients, but may not cover a lawyer's intentional wrongdoing, judicial officials said.

Title insurance also offers protection, but only for the buyers who purchase a home, not sellers.

Ms. Drosos said the old mortgage and equity loan on her Norwalk home were paid off by the title insurance purchased by the buyers, but the company, Connecticut Attorneys Title Insurance, is pursuing reimbursement from her.

Stephen Maggiola, vice president and manager of First American Title Insurance Company, which has a separate claim connected to the Feinsteins, said the title insurance company's only recourse is to pursue a home seller when a lawyer is at fault. ''It's a horrible thing we have to do,'' Mr. Maggiola said. ''But we have a responsibility to recover our losses, too. This is a problem where better solutions need to be found.''

Mr. Maggiola said a client's best bet in recouping lost funds was pursing a civil suit against the lawyer and applying to the Client Security Fund.

Ms. Drosos said she is pursuing a civil action against the Feinsteins and will apply to the Client Security Fund for reimbursement. But she felt more preventative protections needed to be in place. She said that she would like to see checks written directly to banks during real estate closings instead of the funds being given to lawyers to disburse.

''It's absolutely ridiculous that the money should ever go into a lawyer's name,'' Ms. Drosos said.

Frederic Ury, the president of the Connecticut Bar Association, said lawyers do not have to be at real estate closings, nor do they have to disburse the funds. He said some states require that lawyers use separate escrow agents to oversee client funds, but those agents can also misappropriate the money. ''One case is too many for something like this,'' he said. ''It's just very disturbing. But it is very infrequent.''

Mr. Ury suggested that clients concerned about fraud should request that their lawyers provide copies of checks to be paid to banks and creditors at closings. He also said that regional grievance panels make it easier for people to make a complaint.

''The speed which things happen now is terrific for the public,'' he said. ''There is a faster resolution. New rules give local grievance panels much more autonomy. There is a feeling that we needed to dismiss grievances that were frivolous faster and discipline lawyers more quickly.''

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When Lawyers Steal the Escrow

When Lawyers Steal the Escrow

June 5, 2005
When Lawyers Steal the Escrow
By PATRICK O'GILFOIL HEALY
INEVITABLY, when people hired Jay W. Rosen as their real estate lawyer, things went wrong.

A dispute over the home's title or its certificate of occupancy would stymie the deal, making it impossible for Mr. Rosen to release his clients' money from an escrow account he controlled. An ancient property-line dispute would rise from the dead. Checks would get delayed. Cash transfers wouldn't connect.

It was as if money just didn't want to leave Mr. Rosen's hands, clients said.

''To say I was irate was an understatement,'' said Gregg Thaler, who hired Mr. Rosen last summer when his family was selling their home and moving from Long Island to Las Vegas. ''I was throwing a fit.''

Soon, the Thalers began to suspect what criminal charges and a guilty plea would later confirm. Mr. Rosen, a 62-year-old lawyer from Garden City, N.Y., had been stealing from his clients, looting their escrow accounts and down payments.

In all, prosecutors say, he stole at least $3.6 million from about three dozen people in Long Island.

His clients joined the growing ranks of the newly bilked. More and more people in New York City and its suburbs are losing thousands of dollars to their real estate lawyers, according to the state Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection, which tracks thefts by lawyers and reimburses their clients.

To hear these stories underscores the fragility of real estate's reliance on trust, handshake compacts and reputation-based referrals, and how quickly it can be corrupted.

With real estate business surging and down-payment amounts rising with home prices, the temptation for a lawyer to filch money from a bulging escrow account and later repay it with other clients' money has never been greater, said lawyers who monitor the thefts.

The thefts are a particular problem in the New York metropolitan area, where 10 percent down payments are standard and lawyers control the escrow money. In many upstate towns, buyers put down only a few hundred dollars to secure a home and brokers hold the escrow.

Timothy J. O'Sullivan, executive director of the Lawyers' Fund, said claims of real estate theft have surged over the last five years and now surpass claims of theft from trusts, estates and lawsuit settlements. One hundred people reported real estate thefts in 2004, compared with 44 in 1999, according to an annual report by the Lawyers' Fund.

In 1999, clients of crooked real estate lawyers received $555,345 in compensation from the Lawyers' Fund, its data show. Last year's total was $3.651 million. The large theft by Mr. Rosen was not the main reason for the increase in compensation, because the compensation for many of his victims has not yet been paid.

There are no hard numbers recording how many lawyers are arrested or disbarred each year after looting escrow accounts on home sales. Some lawyers take the money to pay off debts. Some spend lavishly on extramarital affairs or to finance drug addictions. Others steal from one client to pay others, again and again, getting buried in a self-created pyramid scheme.

For a Chinatown lawyer named Chak Yin Lee, it was a gambling problem. Mr. Lee pleaded guilty last month to one count of grand larceny after being accused of stealing more than $800,000 from at least 10 clients who were buying and selling homes and investment property.

According to a statement from Manhattan prosecutors and lawyers involved in the case, Mr. Lee would transfer down payments from escrow accounts into his personal account, then later make withdrawals from cash machines in Atlantic City. He put off closing dates, and in August, he shut down his law office on Canal Street.

''We were really worried,'' said Jaime Wong, the pro bono lawyer for a couple who lost more than $400,000. ''We were afraid he would disappear.''

Ms. Wong said her clients, Yat and Yi Ng, had been relying on Mr. Lee to save them money. They had planned to reinvest the proceeds of one investment property quickly to avoid paying capital gains taxes, a common maneuver called a 1031 exchange. It was only after Mr. Lee took the profits from the sale -- $426,860 -- and stopped taking their calls that the couple realized something was wrong.

''When it blew up, a lot of people were quite surprised,'' Ms. Wong said. ''He never struck people as anybody who would do something like that. A lot of lawyers told me, 'Oh he was a nice guy.'''

The Ngs were compensated by the Lawyers' Fund, and Mr. Lee was sentenced May 24 to one to three years in prison. His lawyer declined to comment, and Mr. Lee could not be reached. He has been suspended from the bar and is likely be disbarred in July, said Thomas J. Cahill, who is prosecuting his case before the Departmental Disciplinary Committee of the New York State Supreme Court.

''There are a lot of cases where people have been disbarred involving escrows,'' Mr. Cahill said. ''I mean, a lot.'' Mr. Rosen, the Garden City lawyer, was one of them. He resigned from the bar in October 2004 and has pleaded guilty to grand larceny.

His former clients said they are still amazed by the tales of his prolific and indiscriminate thefts. He stole money from young couples, from elderly women and from dead people, prosecutors and his clients said. He took $5,500 from one man and $296,425 from another.

Mr. Rosen, who would not comment for this story, struck many of his clients as competent and kind but sometimes disorganized and socially awkward. He bounced clients' children on his knees like a grandfather, but sometimes forgot papers at closings and neglected to return phone calls.

Born in 1943, Mr. Rosen received a bachelor's degree from New York University, earned a law degree from New York Law School and was admitted to the bar in 1966, according to Martindale-Hubbell, a legal directory.

He had a solid reputation on Long Island and found clients through word-of-mouth and referrals. Homeowners sent their neighbors to him. Couples like Howard and Allison Edelman of Smithtown were referred by their real-estate agent. Brokers and bankers respected him.

''It's like this guy went from being great to being a horror,'' said Mary Cooper, whose company, Morton M. Haves Real Estate, referred a seller to Mr. Rosen. ''We didn't know what was happening. It was a horrible, horrible experience. The best thing we have is our clients' trust.''

Mr. O'Donnell, the prosecutor, said his office later traced the first thefts to 1999. To steal from home buyers, he took their 10 percent down payments. To steal from sellers, he stood in for them at the closing, then took a portion -- or all -- of the proceeds. Like many lawyers caught stealing from escrow funds, Mr. Rosen ran a solo practice. He had an assistant, but no internal accountants looking over his shoulders or legal partners whose careers could be undermined by Mr. Rosen's actions.

He charged a modest flat fee for steering a deal through contract and closing, often attracting clients who didn't want to hire a lawyer but couldn't navigate the process of buying and selling a home in New York without one.

''I moved here from Dallas, Tex., and when we sold our house there, there were no lawyers involved,'' said Ron Tamir, another of Mr. Rosen's clients. ''I thought, 'What's the big deal?' I ran into my next door neighbor, and I said, 'You know a good lawyer?'''

Mr. Rosen had unfettered, unmonitored access to the escrow accounts in his name, and he sometimes told clients he needed to hold money in escrow while a certificate of occupancy was pending or old code violations on a house were ironed out, clients said.

Eleanor Danziger, 82, hired Mr. Rosen as she prepared to sell her home in Woodmere and move to Manhattan. After the closing, Ms. Danziger still had to perform a few minor fixes to bring her home up to code, so the buyers agreed to set aside $50,000 of the purchase price in an escrow account and release the money once the work was done. When the work was finished in June, Mr. Rosen said he would send Ms. Danziger the $50,000, she said. It never came.

''When we went to his office, we were not impressed,'' she said. ''It was less than modest. My son is an attorney, so I know what a substantial practice can be. But this was like, by the seat of the pants. He wasn't making his money from the fees. He was making his money from the other stuff.''

Ashok and Arti Singh said they lost out on a home purchase after hiring Mr. Rosen. After offering $600,000 on a home on Long Island, they gave Mr. Rosen a $60,000 check to be used as a down payment. But after several days of silence, the Singhs learned the sellers had signed with another buyer.

''He didn't put my money into escrow,'' Ms. Singh said. ''That's why I was losing the deal. We went through hell. I'm still in the same house.''

Ms. Singh said she called Mr. Rosen's office repeatedly but got only answering machines. When she reached him, he promised to send her money back, and a check arrived in the mail. It bounced.

Most of his clients were middle-class families or elderly people living on fixed incomes, such as Gertrude Marcus, who sold her home in Hewlett to finance her retirement in Florida. Or the Thalers, who sold their home in Old Bethpage and planned to use the profits to finance a new home in Las Vegas.

Many of Mr. Rosen's victims have been compensated by the Lawyers' Fund, which is financed by lawyers' registration fees and reimburses victims of legal fraud. The fund has so far paid $1.9 million of the estimated $3.6 million to $4.7 million Mr. Rosen stole from his clients.

Mr. Rosen's lawyer, Thomas Liotti, said that Mr. Rosen had not spent the money lavishly or wantonly but had been threatened and shaken down for cash by former clients. In October, The Daily News ran a photograph of Mr. Liotti standing in Mr. Rosen's offices, which had been trashed and burglarized, presumably by those angry clients.

Mr. Liotti would not elaborate on the bizarre allegation but said Mr. Rosen had been sick and victimized. Mr. Rosen's former girlfriend reiterated that story, but spoke on the condition she not be named, saying she feared the people who ransacked Mr. Rosen's office.

She said Mr. Rosen had taken the escrow money, hoping that he would win a large case on appeal and be able to repay the accounts. But the appeal failed, he kept stealing and had a nervous breakdown and attempted suicide, the girlfriend said.

Mr. O'Donnell, the prosecutor, had less sympathy. He said Mr. Rosen is broke and has no property the county can seize and sell.

''He didn't give an explanation'' for the thefts, Mr. O'Donnell said. ''It was just to fund a lifestyle. He lived in a very exclusive neighborhood in Oyster Bay Cove.''

Today, many of Mr. Rosen's clients are still angry, at him and at prosecutors. Mr. Thaler said his home sale closed in September 2004 -- two months after prosecutors began getting complaints about Mr. Rosen, and one month before his arrest.

''While they were waiting, he stole from us,'' Mr. Thaler said.

Katie Grilli-Robles, a spokeswoman for the Nassau County district attorney's office, rejected the charge, saying the path from investigation to arrest was swift.

Mr. Rosen is expected to be sentenced to two to six years in prison this Tuesday. Clients said his sentencing would bring them some comfort, but added that they were still shaken after realizing their own vulnerability.

''There's no way to guard against something like that happening to you,'' Mr. Thaler said. ''If someone's out to defraud you, they're going to win every time.'' Some Ways to Protect Yourself

ALTHOUGH there are few fail-safe ways to guard against theft in real estate transactions, there are preventive steps that can be taken.

Some lawyers recommend having an insurance policy against escrow deposits. Others suggest that lawyers put up a bond against the funds, the same way someone accused of a crime must put up a bond to avoid jail before a trial, or that escrow accounts be set up to require a client's authorization before any withdrawal.

But those are unorthodox tactics, and most lawyers say the easiest way to guard against theft is to know whom you are hiring.

Find a lawyer through friends, family or clergy, or get referrals from the New York State Bar Association or the New York City Bar Association. There is a modest fee for the service.

Call a local grievance committee to find out whether a lawyer has been disciplined in the past. For lawyers in Manhattan and the Bronx: (212) 401-0800; for Brooklyn, Queens or Staten Island: (718) 923-6300; for Nassau and Suffolk Counties: (631) 231-3775; or for the Hudson Valley: (914) 949-4540. Joshua Stein, chairman of the Real Property Law section of the New York State Bar Association, said clients can also deposit their escrow funds with a title insurance company, bypassing a lawyer's escrow account.

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Morgan Stanley Gets a Lesson On Lawyers And the Law

Morgan Stanley Gets a Lesson On Lawyers And the Law

May 17, 2005
Morgan Stanley Gets a Lesson On Lawyers And the Law
By JONATHAN D. GLATER

At least one lesson of the legal brawl between Ronald O. Perelman and Morgan Stanley is clear: Don't pick a public fight with your lawyer on the eve of trial.
Scant weeks before the trial was set to begin, Morgan Stanley and its outside law firm, Kirkland & Ellis, parted ways -- though which side drove the separation is not entirely clear. In proceedings in state court in West Palm Beach, Fla., both lawyer and client asserted that a serious conflict of interest had arisen, and Morgan Stanley told the law firm to expect a civil malpractice lawsuit. Morgan Stanley went to trial with lawyers who repeatedly told the court that they were not as prepared as Mr. Perelman's team.


Yesterday the jury hearing the case weighed in, ordering Morgan Stanley to pay Mr. Perelman $604 million in damages. Jurors still have to consider possible additional punitive damages, and the bigger the total, the more likely Morgan Stanley will try to force Kirkland & Ellis to help pay the bill.

More went wrong in Morgan Stanley's case than just the last-minute lawyer swap. The presiding judge, Elizabeth T. Maass, dealt a serious blow to the investment firm when she instructed jurors that Morgan Stanley had to persuade them that the firm did not conspire to commit fraud -- a shift of the burden of proof; typically, Mr. Perelman's lawyers would have had to prove fraud.

After Kirkland & Ellis was out, Morgan Stanley's new lawyer asked the court for more time to prepare for trial, known as a continuance, arguing that the orders of the judge had created the conflict that prevented Kirkland & Ellis from serving as outside counsel. Judge Maass denied the request, stating that she did not know what the conflict was.

''Morgan Stanley was unwilling to waive any attorney-client privilege and tell me what the nature of that claim was,'' the judge said at a proceeding in March, explaining her reluctance to grant a continuance. She added, several minutes later, ''How would you ever test whether there truly was a potential malpractice claim or it was simply a ruse to allow counsel to withdraw and potentially get a continuance?''

If switching lawyers was intended to buy time, the strategy failed.

A spokesman for Morgan Stanley declined to comment. Lawyers at Kirkland & Ellis, citing client confidentiality, issued a brief statement yesterday, saying, ''There was absolutely no malpractice committed by Kirkland & Ellis.''

Court filings and transcripts hint at one reason Kirkland & Ellis and Morgan Stanley may have decided to part ways: an embarrassing mess over providing documents. Although a Morgan Stanley executive certified in June 2004 that the firm had produced all documents and e-mail messages required by the court, the company found additional documents and e-mail messages months after they should have been turned over to Mr. Perelman's lawyers.

That is why the court issued an order reversing the burden of proof. The judge concluded that Morgan Stanley ''has deliberately and contumaciously violated numerous discovery orders.''

When Judge Maass told members of the jury that they could hold the failure to produce evidence against Morgan Stanley, the instruction no doubt helped Mr. Perelman's lawyers considerably in their arguments while also contributing to the jury's decision.

But transcripts and court filings do not explain how the document production fiasco led to a conflict between the company and its former lawyers. Mark Hansen, one of Morgan Stanley's new lawyers, insisted in court that the conflict was self-evident once the firm told Kirkland & Ellis that it could face a malpractice claim.

''When a client puts a lawyer on notice like that, it creates the conflict because the issue is the relationship between the lawyer and client,'' Mr. Hansen said.

The judge was unconvinced. ''None of that is relevant,'' she said in court ''unless and until I know what it is Morgan Stanley believes Kirkland & Ellis did that was legal malpractice. And so far you have been unwilling to disclose that.''

Mr. Hansen responded simply, ''We can't waive the privilege.''

A dispute like the one involving Morgan Stanley and Kirkland & Ellis is highly unusual. A typical conflict of interest for a law firm involves a current client whose interests run counter to those of a past, present or future client or a lawyer representing both parties to the same dispute.

When the client's interests and the lawyer's interests are at odds, ''you can't do the representation,'' said Bruce Green, a professor at the Fordham University School of Law, who teaches legal ethics. ''There're no hard and fast rules.''

It could be, for example, that a law firm in Kirkland & Ellis's position might be more cautious in representing its client after being told of a potential malpractice claim. If there is a malpractice suit filed by Morgan Stanley, eventually many of the details will become public. For now, Mr. Green said, ''It's hard to say without knowing all the facts.''

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Caught Between Doing Well and Doing Good - New York Times

November 18, 2005
Legal Beat
Caught Between Doing Well and Doing Good
By JONATHAN D. GLATER
NOT a deal is done unless lawyers have blessed it. Not a regulatory filing is made unless lawyers have reviewed it. And not an executive compensation agreement is signed unless lawyers have approved it.

Lawyers have made themselves indispensable to public companies. Lawyers boast of their ability to learn the ins and outs of any problem and to know a client's interests better than the client does.

But if lawyers are as wise as they profess, how is it that so many of their clients have been in the middle of devastating financial scandals over the last four years?

Slowly, we are learning more about what lawyers have been up to. For example, some prominent law firms have issued opinion letters approving tax shelters later challenged as improper. Some appear to have drawn up the contracts that enabled companies to park hard truths on someone else's balance sheet. And it was not that long ago that some helped set up companies that engaged in a series of revenue-enhancing transactions that made Enron look like a powerhouse, at least for a while.

The typical argument in such cases - and just because it is typical does not mean that it is not powerful or even true - is not surprising: lawyers may not know the net effect of transactions they assist.

"Suppose I am asked to help facilitate a wire transfer of several million dollars from Milan," said Geoffrey Hazard, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania. "Could that be fraudulent? Sure. Could it be perfectly legitimate? Sure. Any badges indicating it's not? No."

Of course, these arguments suggest lawyers are not as powerful or knowledgeable as they claim when they are selling their services. As one lawyer cynically put it, a lawyer may brag of mastery of a deal in advance; but once prosecutors are interested, suddenly that lawyer's role consisted only of drafting a contract.

Bevis Longstreth, a former member of the Securities and Exchange Commission and a retired law firm partner, put the contrast succinctly. "Our lawyers in this country are instrumental in getting the deal done," he said. "In the course of that, they come to understand a great deal about the transaction. They can say, well, we only had this little part, but most lawyers who think of themselves as very good and who are very good, have tremendous peripheral vision and they are worried about everything under the sun."

When it comes to potential misconduct at a client, he said, "It just doesn't add up that they're not conscious."

Now, this is not to say that every scandal can be laid at the feet of lawyers. Far from it. Lawyers have good reason to protect their reputations by keeping clear of the taint of scandal. Often enough, lawyers guide clients through gray areas - saying a tax shelter is not clearly illegal, for example. The fact that a prosecutor challenges a transaction after the fact does not mean that the lawyer who documented it furthered a fraud.

Still, there are troublesome reasons to think lawyers might have become less effective guardians against corporate malfeasance. Several lawyers cited the annual rankings of law firms by American Lawyer magazine. The rankings, they say, forced them to think about looking successful financially, rather than focusing solely on their intangible reputation as good lawyers.

"The ability to think of yourself as the best without being paid the most became much harder," Mr. Longstreth said. Getting paid more meant keeping clients - which can mean avoiding having to say no.

Regulators have gone after lawyers in a few cases. But regulators have usually focused on the corporate general counsel - someone who clearly stands to gain from looking the other way during fraud.

Building a case against outside lawyers is difficult, several lawyers said. To establish wrongdoing, it would have to be shown that the outside lawyer knowingly furthered a fraud. Another stumbling block is proving motive. Executives whose stock options soar in value as a result of phony earnings have a reason to engage in fakery. Outside lawyers - paid by the hour - do not.

But having no reason to do wrong is not the same as having a reason to do right.

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Monday, August 15, 2005

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?????????????阿里巴巴和马云赢得雅虎信任

直到最近,可能还没有任何人比马云(Jack Ma)更相信他自己。

如今,这位阿里巴巴(Alibaba.com Corp.)的创始人找到了一个同样对他充满信心的支持者:雅虎公司(Yahoo! Inc.),后者最近将10亿美元押在了这家公司上,期待著这位当过英文老师的中国网络精英能够帮助雅虎拓展中国市场。

在周四宣布的交易中,雅虎将向阿里巴巴支付10亿美元, 并将目前所有的中国业务都转让给阿里巴巴,以此换取该公司40%的股权。雅虎也将因此成为阿里巴巴最大的外部股东,在四人董事会中占据一个席位,并拥有35%的投票权。上述10亿美元中的一部分资金将用于从现有股东手中购买公司股票。

这宗交易显示出了雅虎对马云的高度信任。现年40岁的马云说话大胆,也深谙领导之道,这在公司的创建过程中发挥了有益的作用,同时也让国内外的竞争对手感到了压力。雅虎和阿里巴巴的联姻将巩固马云作为中国新一代企业家杰出代表的形象,并给了他更广阔的施展空间,向更远大的目标迈进。

马云在周四的新闻发布会上表示,他和公司领导团队的目标,就是要把阿里巴巴打造成世界上最伟大的中国公司。

雅虎的管理人士坦言,此次入股阿里巴巴实际上就是承认:在中国推广雅虎的品牌,马云能比公司过去做得更好。人们普遍认为中国将超过美国,成为全球互联网用户数量最多的市场。

雅虎首席运营长罗森格(Daniel Rosensweig)表示,这并不是意味著雅虎单靠自己的力量就无法取得成功,这样做是让雅虎有机会与一个优秀的管理团队合作,从而能更快地将业务拓展至更广阔的空间。

联姻后,新公司将把阿里巴巴现有的企业对企业(B2B)业务、消费者拍卖网站业务与雅虎的中国搜索引擎业务、通讯服务业务结合到一起,在中国互联网几乎所有主要业务领域都将发挥举足轻重的作用。管理人士称,在周四宣布的交易中,阿里巴巴的企业价值被确定为超过40亿美元。该公司去年销售收入为4,600万美元。

不过,与雅虎的联姻也带来了新的压力和挑战。马云必须让新股东满意,而雅虎想要的无疑就是努力让其品牌在中国取得成功。

马云的经验背景让他在中西方两种不同的商业环境之间游走自如。马云出生在历史名城杭州,文化大革命时期他尚年幼无知,80年代成年后却正好赶上了中国经济迅速发展的时期,他如饥似渴地学习英语,并利用课余时间为到杭州及其风景名胜西湖观光的外国游客担任免费导游。

马云1988年从毕业杭州师范学院(Hangzhou Teachers Institute),获得英语专业的学位。之后他在杭州电子工学院(Hangzhou Electronic & Engineering Institute)当了几年的老师,教授语言和国际贸易。

1995年,马云开始创办一个名为中国黄页(Chinapages.com)的网上通讯名录,并很快被中国外经贸部看中,请他帮助维护网站。1999年他创办了阿里巴巴网站,目的是通过网络帮助中国的小企业联系其他地方更大的市场。那时在关注中国市场的外国网络界管理人士当中,马云已是小有名气。1998年,雅虎创始人杨致远到中国旅游的时候,是他陪著杨致远四处观光。两人当时在长城的一张合影在周四的新闻发布会上颇为抢眼。

马云在网站创办之初就表现出了强烈的自信。2000年4月,美国那斯达克市场的泡沫开始破灭的时候,许多互联网人士都认为前途渺茫。而这位阿里巴巴的首席执行长却依然满腔热情。

他当时在接受采访时俏皮地说,“我真想开瓶香槟”,庆祝一下股市暴跌。他认为,股市下跌能清除那些没什么价值的公司,为阿里巴巴在年底的上市改善市场环境。“这有利于市场的健康发展,对阿里巴巴这样的公司非常有利”,他说。

5年之后,阿里巴巴仍未上市,但马云已经在高层赢得了一些仰慕者。他经常受邀出席著名场合,例如世界经济论坛(World Economic Forum)和美国的哈佛商学院(Harvard Business School)等。

“他有卓越的管理能力”,阿里巴巴目前最大的外部股东、软库(Softbank Corp.)创始人兼首席执行长孙正义(Masayoshi Son)这样评价马云。“如果说哪家非美国公司能向全球市场推广一种全新的商业模式,那就是阿里巴巴了。”

不过,有些分析师认为,马云开创的业务能否迅速发展壮大,实现他的宏伟目标,这些都还是未知数。北京的互联网行业咨询师、从1998年就认识马云的邓肯·克拉克(Duncan Clark)说,他有一种神奇的魅力,能让人们放松下来,能把人们团结在一起。但到目前为止,阿里巴巴的业务仍未发展到真正符合马云雄心壮志的水平。

马云最大的对手一直是美国拍卖网站eBay Inc.。2003年初期,看到eBay在中国市场的地位越来越强大,马云秘密召集了几位最信任的雇员,移师当年创建阿里巴巴的总部--杭州市某公寓。他们在那里蛰伏了几个月,起草了阿里巴巴消费者拍卖网站淘宝网(TaoBao.com)的方案。

2003年7月,淘宝网推出,从eBay手中迅速抢占了不少中国市场的份额。马云承诺,至少在明年7月之前不向淘宝网用户收费,所以淘宝网到现在都没有收入。

马云一直保留著杭州那所并无特色的公寓,阿里巴巴一位高层管理人士说,马云准备最终把那里变成一所博物馆。

香港时间2005年08月13日07:10更新

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

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Deputy of NPC urges Corporate Law changes


2003-03-07
China Daily



China's Corporate Law is in desperate need of changes to adapt to the needs of the market economy, deputies to the ongoing National People's Congress session urged.

Deputies and legal professionals stress that the reform will require the revision of or scrapping of a host of laws.

Some experts pointed out that the biggest flaw in China's corporate law system is its classification of different forms of ownership.

Besides the Corporate Law, enacted in 1993, China still has a law on State-owned enterprises and several regulations governing foreign-funded companies.

"It sounds odd to seek a modern corporate system on one hand, but label companies according to their ownership on the other," said Zhang Mingshu, a law professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

He said the current corporate law system is a legacy of the planned economy and must be replaced by a uniform code governing all forms of ownership.

"Many dated corporate rules, such as investment limits, have become a major barrier to businesses' development," said Li Dongsheng, an NPC deputy and chairman of the TCL Group, an electronic company in South China's Guangdong Province.

The Corporate Law sets the ceiling of a company's investment at 50 per cent of its net assets to control economic bubbles.

Li said the limit is too strict and has curbed the expansion of domestic companies, many of whom are competing with established foreign companies.

He also warned that legal barriers had prevented the introduction of a lot of new technology.

The Corporate Law stipulates that intangible assets must not exceed 20 per cent of a company's subscribed capital.

The rule has prevented many cash-strapped inventors from taking commercial advantage of their genius, despite the booming of the high-tech and venture capital sectors worldwide.

Ironically, many places, such as Beijing's Zhongguancun High-tech Park, have already mapped out new policies to foster small high-tech firms regardless of the legal restrictions.

"Although the Corporate Law was amended in 1999, it is now outdated," said Yu Wen, an NPC deputy and vice-chairman of the Association of Industry and Commerce in North China's Hebei Province.

She said the lack of rules on merger and acquisitions has hindered the expansion of many companies.

Meanwhile, the government's tight control on incorporation is at odds with the market, she added.

The Corporate Law requires the establishment of a joint-stock company to be approved by a provincial government or a department appointed by the State Council. The criteria for issuing corporate bonds or getting companies listed is even stricter.

Other rules concerning the operation of companies, such as the Securities Law and regulations on corporate registration and bond issues, may all need to be revised accordingly, he added.

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optionCorporate social responsibility in China


2005-05-13
China Daily


What happens when businesses are driven not just by maximizing profits for their shareholders, but also by benefiting the wider community and environment in which they operate? Sparks fly. Amazing feats are achieved in local communities, factories, businesses, and even nations.

The past quarter of a century has seen Western businesses investing heavily in China, all striving to adapt their business models to this huge market, while bringing capital, technology and management know-how to the country.

Today, China is probably more integrated into the international community than at any point in its history, and the competitive economic landscape is changing rapidly. For multinational companies that take social and environmental responsibilities seriously, unprecedented opportunities abound for them to turn the corporate social responsibility (CSR) fad into a real opportunity for social change.

Trends and initiatives

Corporations wishing to sponsor community engagement projects will find no shortage of suitable candidates. For instance, IBM has pumped tens of millions of US dollars into learning centres at Chinese kindergartens, schools and universities, supplemented by teacher and scholar training programs.

Ascott Group, an international firm that manages luxury-serviced apartments, has opted to help pupils in Guangxi, in collaboration with World Vision, by donating funds to provide immunizations and nutritional lunches for more than 400 children. The company also contributed funding to renovate the school kids' dormitories, which are drafty and often require students to share bunks, sometimes with up to three students in each.

Some firms take a more hands-on approach to strengthening local charitable initiatives. Take the UPS Global Volunteerism Week. It has become a company norm to allow employees time off to undertake volunteer work in the community. During the volunteering week employees go out of the office and donate their time to help non-governmental organizations in their community activities such as painting, helping the elderly, and organizing auctions or in-kind donations.

Life is uncomplicated for those who see corporate social responsibility as a philanthropic pursuit. Yet an increasing number of business and civil leaders tend to differentiate corporate citizenship from philanthropy. More attention has been focused on integrating corporate social responsibility practices into business objectives and, above all, redefining the role of a company in society and its environment.

As a founding signatory to the Wolfsburg Principles on anti-money laundering for international private banks, HSBC implements comprehensive anti-money laundering standards across its entire business line. The firm uses careful identification procedures for opening accounts, close monitoring of transactions and a worldwide network of control officers for tracking and reporting. In addition, the company conducts money laundering awareness programs for every new member of staff and refresher training courses where relevant.

More than 1,020 Chinese teenagers would not have been able to make their entrepreneurship dreams come true without Boeing China's support for the Junior Achievement business plan programme. Mentored by volunteer consultants from the business community, these young entrepreneurs developed their business ideas, and organized and operated actual business ventures. They also had a chance to participate in programs that cultivated leadership, team spirit and interpersonal skills. "As a member of China's community, Boeing's support is a gift to the children in China, because they carry forward the hope and future of this great country," said Boeing China President David Wang.

Since 1999, Microsoft China has provided nearly 4.5 million yuan (US$542,000) to support computer skills training projects for laid-off and migrant workers in Liaoning, Sichuan, Guangdong and Shanghai.

"Microsoft is committed to addressing the digital divide issue," said David Kay, deputy general manager of Microsoft China, "because we believe, as a technology company, our combined resources - including products, technologies, solutions and cash grants - can be most effectively utilized in tackling this issue."

The company's recently launched Unlimited Potential grant programme is intended to further transform community centres that currently provide only basic access to technology into a technology-enabled centre for learning and collaboration.

While things are relatively straightforward for multinational corporations following a consistent code of conduct directed by the parent company, the situation gets far more complex for those companies that outsource manufacturing in China so as to cut costs. This is the area that has attracted the attention of the media and civil society.

Ever since the Western public outcry in the 1990s about sweatshops in Asia operated by big foreign firms, labour compliance has become a permanent reality in corporate boardrooms. Stephen Frost, a research fellow at the Southeast Asia Centre of the City University of Hong Kong and chief editor of CSR Asia magazine, is a long-term observer of the changing environment.

He recalled that in the mid-1990s footwear manufacturers like Nike and Reebok started to issue global codes of conduct to ensure their suppliers complied with certain standards, such as not hiring children or recruiting prison labour, no gender discrimination, no harassment of workers, and so forth.

"The whole idea was the brands asked the suppliers to comply, and they checked by inspections," explained Frost. "But later on, when the audit-based approach was found to be ineffective, the big firms turned to engage with the factory management together to deal with the problems."

Adidas initiated occupational health safety training courses for its workforce and Reebok created a female workers' welfare programme.

Nike and Target offered labour rights education programs to owners and managers of hundreds of small Chinese enterprises.

In partnership with academic and non-governmental organizations, a consortium of export-processing companies including Ford Motor, Gap, HP, Liz Claiborne, Pfizer, MeadWestvaco, Motorola and Target recently launched a standing programme in China called Global Supplier Institute. Following a "beyond audit" strategy, the consortium will be offering training programs on management, health and safety, and HIV/AIDS, amongst other compliance curricula.

Another leading United States retailer is taking these efforts a step further. May Department Stores, which owns retailers such as Hecht's, Lord & Taylor and Marshall Field's, has recently awarded 36 Chinese migrant women workers scholarships for degree education. This innovative empowerment scheme for female workers is believed to be the first of its kind in the country.

Critical success factors

For corporate social responsibility initiatives to be successful, a number of factors must come together, including strong partnerships, communication, core values and policy engagement.

Most business and civil leaders believe that the most important contribution corporations can make to society is through the way they run their own businesses.

"Co-operation is the basis of our CSR approach," said Mark Spears, Director of International Labour Standards for the Walt Disney Company. "We work together with a variety of stake-holders, including investors, other companies, licencees, suppliers, academic, civil society members and government agencies, as each of them contributes a vital perspective to the process."

Successful collaboration is expected to leverage resources, skills, competencies, technology and networks, thereby maximizing social impact.

The Asia Foundation has been an active convener facilitating multi-stake-holder dialogues and peer learning opportunities. In a forthcoming workshop on labour law enforcement, the Foundation will bring together about 70 representatives of multinational corporations, Chinese officials, academics, and non-governmental organization leaders.

"Since we had a successful inaugural workshop in 2003, there's been growing interest for such a cross-sector forum where numerous initiatives get brokered and announced," said Allen Choate, vice-president of The Asia Foundation. "It's critical to have an ongoing vehicle for dialogues among CSR stake-holders."

Smart design and funding will not ensure a successful corporate social responsibility project. It must be efficiently implemented and monitored.

"You need to make the whole process transparent," noted Horace Ling, chief marketing manager of World Vision. "I can never emphasize enough on-going communication."

It is risky to underestimate interest in pro-social schemes. When Ling first issued a customized newsletter, he put about 100 names on the list, but more than 500 people signed up. The newsletter circulation has now reached 2,500 every quarter.

Internal communications are just as important. "You do need to encourage employees to actively participate in the socially responsible initiatives, as nobody personifies your commitment to the local community better than them," said John Hong, senior corporate affairs manager of Microsoft China.

"Recognize their efforts, create conditions for their participation, and make it part of your corporate culture."

Soccer in the Box, a community engagement project initiated by Bayer China, is a vivid example of how a company carries its tradition and culture in socially responsible campaigns. The company donates footballs and kits to children in impoverished regions, helping them to organize teams.

Bayer AG was founded in a remote area of Germany in the 1860s, and in the early days the company established sports clubs to help retain employees. Today, there are 29 clubs for Bayer employees in Germany and some have become professional clubs in the high-profile National League.

"So the soccer boxes help bring to the community our core culture," explained William Valentino, Bayer's corporate communications manager in Greater China. "It also helps spread our values, which is all about fair competition, teamwork, and education for social benefits."

To ensure corporate social responsibility programs address practical problems that the government cares about and will endorse, there has to be an alignment with government priorities.

The Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS has been a leader in just such a successful alignment. With more than 180 leading international businesses, the coalition's membership represents a workforce of nearly four million in 178 countries.

The coalition recently launched an unprecedented joint action plan with the Chinese Ministry of Health to battle the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

"To prevent and control HIV/AIDS is not only the obligation of the Chinese Government, but also the common responsibility of the entire society including the business sector," Vice-Premier Wu Yi was quoted as saying by People's Daily, at the joint summit. She promised the government will update laws and regulations, increase financial input and ensure free treatment and care for HIV patients.

Michael Furst, vice-chair of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, is a proponent of the corporate sector's engagement in the policy dialogue. "The businesses need to be aware of the policy implications of what they are doing. Otherwise, CSR would likely remain a micro response to macro issues," he said.

Furst added that multinational corporations sometimes have different political values than the local government where they operate, and thus effective cross-cultural communication is needed.

That explains, in part, why local expertise is so vital in any policy research or advocacy activities. The Asia Foundation, for instance, worked with the Development Research Centre of the State Council in a research project on foreign direct investment in China. The partnership helped yield some inspiring fact-finding and policy recommendations for this heated subject.

Key considerations and caveats

Despite the positive scorecard on corporate social responsibility activities and achievements worldwide, and business executives' passion for social issues, the matter does not go without criticism.

Firstly, there is a debate about the voluntary nature of social responsibility. The sceptical say corporate social responsibility is by default not designed to replace regulations, but to complement them. Enforcement difficulties may become an obstacle.

But the counter argument maintains corporate social responsibility is important where regulations are not in place or insufficiently enforced. As legal instruments evolve, there needs to be a better integration of voluntary approaches and laws or government regulations.

Secondly, while nobody questions the likelihood of a company suffering in the long run if it profits while inflicting harm on the community, the upside of pro-social investment is hard to quantify.

Companies that do have such schemes in place have yet to find a good measure of their return on investment.

Local firms, where multinationals source, are still expected to deliver price-competitive manufacturing while at the same time sharing the costs of pro-social measures. Operational cost increases become a target of complaint.

Nowadays suppliers have to meet very stringent standards in terms of workplace conditions before they are able to bid for outsourced manufacturing.

Lastly come concerns about expanding and sustaining corporate social responsibility programs. How should firms make sure schemes are not one-off projects, and will be sustained after a company stops providing financial and other support?

Part of the solution might be empowerment - understanding the needs of local partners and beneficiaries, and focusing on building their capacity and capability, rather than creating dependence.

While there is still a long way to go before all the innovative inroads turn into sustainable development, trends in pro-social projects in China are extremely positive.

The movement has created a new era of public-private co-operation that is benefiting communities throughout the country, and leading to more socially responsible organizations throughout the world.

Sunday, July 24, 2005

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中国新闻周刊:清算中国股市

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http://www.sina.com.cn 2005年06月16日12:41 中国新闻周刊

  回溯近15年的股市,可谓一部“亡羊史”。“但见行情起伏,难觅制度建设”,除了围绕股指的纷纷扰扰,技术层面的修修补补,真正称得上的股市制度构建凤毛麟角。

  从最初试验——片面抑制——功利地利用——无奈的制度重建,中国股市已经跌宕起伏地走过了近15年,今日今时的种种危机无不在历史中埋下了伏笔,而改革的机会也在一次次的“权宜之计”中蹉跎。

  亡羊补牢,为时未晚。股权分置改革的启动,揭开了中国股市“补牢史”的序幕,但毕其功于一役的想法是不现实的——趟过股权分置这条河之后,还有五座大山需要翻越。

  中国股市回眸:政策与市的纠缠

  “权宜”之策频繁干预股市,价值导向常常相左,直接导致了中国股市成为不折不扣的“猴市”

  本刊记者/王晨波

  老人累死“猴市”

  2005年6月8日,沈阳,年过七旬的古清生(化名)像平日一样来到了辽信证券交易所,与相熟的股友们打了招呼后,开始仔细看盘。

  这天跟平日不同,交易大厅的看板上一片红肥绿瘦,股市一扫昨日阴霾,行情全线飙升。看到这些,古却止不住地叹气,嘴里不停的念叨着“没事,没事”,数分钟后,他倏然倒地,突发心肌梗塞而死,就此永别恋战多年的股市。

  就在前一天,古权衡再三,还是把这些年来买的股票悉数卖掉。这个决定是在8年来股市首次跌破千点大关后做出的。他的股友对本刊回忆说,赔了近十万元后,古对股市彻底绝望了。

  事实上,6月6日上午11点06分,沪市股指跌至988.32点。那一刻,绝望的情绪弥漫在全国各地的交易所里。在当时的一份网络调查里,大部分人们相信“出逃等于生还”,有人用“中国股市8年抗战,一觉回到解放前”来形容此时此景。

  但随后的事情几乎令所有人大跌眼镜。6月8日,突如其来的暴涨甚至让中央电视台直播节目《中国证券》早间版的主持人闻股“色变”。

  这位主持人显然没有精神准备面对突然跳空高开的局面,更来不及细数究竟有多少支股票以涨停价位开出,面对开盘之后急速的涨跌幅变化,她的脸上露出错愕之色。

  当时,在北京阜成门附近的一个交易所,甚至有股民怀疑显示屏出错,因为按照此前大盘走势,股指应该截然相反。主流的看法认为,这显然是一轮“有组织”的救市,各路资金秘密“勤王”,以非常之手段演出非常之行情。

  同是一天,疯涨了8%的“人工牛市”送走了古老爷子的最后一声叹息,也让人想到了中国股市近15年来历历在目的几次“牛市”。令人记忆犹新的就有2002年6·24行情,再之前的1999年5·19行情,以及1994年三大政策救市行情等等,不一而足。在以往的那些政策市里,股指骤然暴涨之后,股市高市盈率而少投资价值的问题每每凸现,于是,怎样涨上去的最终又会怎样跌下来,大多数的投资者都曾被类似行情套牢过。

  回溯近15年的股市,可谓一部“亡羊史”。“但见行情起伏,难觅制度建设”,著名经济学家、原全国人大财经委员会经济法室副主任王连洲对本刊说。

  其间,“权宜”政策频繁干预股市,其价值导向也常常相左,研究人员纷纷抱怨根本无法看清这些所谓的“政策市”,这也直接导致了中国股市成为不折不扣的“猴市”——无所谓“熊市”、“牛市”,就像只上蹿下跳的猴子。

  本刊接触到的最初设计参与者、市场立法者、机构投资者以及股民、学者等,几乎都得出一致的结论:“十多年来,除了围绕股指的纷纷扰扰,技术层面的修修补补,真正称得上的股市制度构建凤毛麟角。”

  从最初试验——片面抑制——功利地利用——无奈的制度重建,中国股市已经跌宕起伏地走过了近15年,而一次次改革的机会也在一次次的“权宜之计”中蹉跎。

  恋曲1990:纯洁构想的曲折实现

  最初石破天惊地在中国提出建立证券市场的,并非是后来出名的几位“海归”,而是一帮从没见过股市的穷学生。

  1984年,当时中国人民银行研究生部20多名研究生(其中包括蔡重直、吴晓玲、魏本华、胡晓炼等),发表了轰动一时的《中国金融改革战略探讨》,其中第一次谈到了在中国建立证券市场的构想。

  没有人能想到,这本蓝色封面、印刷粗糙的小册子在1984年第二届中国金融年会上引起的思想风暴的规模。此前25年中,国内对于金融市场建立一直鲜有理论探讨。论文的发起人、原中信嘉华银行总裁蔡重直对本刊回忆,当年关于证券市场的构想,要在马、列全集中寻找理论依据,文章最后提出要开放全国证券市场。

  这个在当时被很多人认为是“反社会主义”文本的东西,起到了破除观念樊篱的作用。而1984年也正好是改革进程中一个欣欣向荣的年份。

  与此同时,在市场改革中,一系列的变化已悄然发生。在1985年、1986年,一些股份公司开始成立,如北京的天桥公司、深圳发展银行等,这些公司开始发行股票,尽管当时没有证券市场,但这些股票已经具有价格并开始在市场中交换。

  1988年,王波明、高西庆两位留美学生回国并开始着手一件大事。财经评论人、目前任一家保险公司发展改革部副总经理的王安对本刊回忆说,当年,王波明和高西庆在美联储大楼下有个约定:要在中国建立证券交易市场,回北京后干5年,如果不成,高去东边修自行车,王到西边卖包子。

  当年的《纽约中报》报道说,高和王踌躇满志谈股市,从华尔街返归国门雄心高万丈,又说高、王起草报告游说建立股票交易所,辩称投机不是贬义词,买空卖空亦属需要。很快,官方有了回应。

  1988年7月9日,人民银行开了证券市场座谈会,会中囊括了中央财经领导小组、计委、体改委、人行、财政部等人员。此外,还有资本味道十足的国企中创、中农信等公司。

  会上决定,由人行牵头组成证券交易所研究设计小组,人民银行综合计划司司长宫著铭、中国新技术创业投资公司总经理张晓彬等主持起草《中国证券市场创办与管理的设想》(后简称《设想》),王和高也是其中的“年轻人”,二人就此开始有了“组织”。

  蔡重直回忆说,当时,在企业里拿钱最多的是张晓彬;政府里起到巨大推动作用的是宫著铭,他当时既是国家体改委委员,又是国家计委委员,还兼任人民银行体改办主任。而全职操办的就是王波明。

  《设想》很快起草完毕。1988年11月9日,中央高层首次听取《设想》报告。当天上午9时,在中南海,时任中共中央政治局常委、国务院副总理兼中央财经领导小组副组长姚依林和中央顾问委员会常委兼中央财经领导小组秘书长张劲夫共同主持了汇报会。

  会到尾声,张劲夫总结道:“我多年思索公有制怎么个公有法,现在全民不如大集体,要改革财产所有权的问题,用什么方式解决,股份制本身是核心问题,要探讨,我报名作一个志愿兵。体改委为主,我参与,要赶快搞出来。”

  会后,中国农业信托投资公司总经理王岐山和宫著铭等集合9家官办公司成立了证券交易所研究设计联合办公室,简称联办。他们准备在北京建立证券交易所,但随后一场政治风波却令这个设想越走越远。

  此后,证券交易所的星星之火在南中国开花结果。1990年12月19日,上海举行上海证券交易所开业典礼。这个消息又刺激了深圳人,12月1日,深交所开业,但“开业”前面加了个“试”字。

  股市最初的建立就是如此,“历史在为未来奋斗的时候总是高尚和纯洁的,当年设计者所构想的证券市场只有一个榜样——欧美,欧美股市是完全市场化的结果,是最精明的商人之间的活动,而中国的历史现实却决定了中国的股市一开始就带着太多的政府色彩。”一位最初设计者对本刊评论说。这为后来的政策市以及国企圈钱埋下了伏笔。

  混乱90年代:徘徊在保压之间 

  尽管沪市和深市已经开锣,但1990年代初围绕证券市场的争论仍喋喋不休。王连洲清晰地记得,当时全国人大常委会在讨论制定《证券法》时,原北京电影制片厂的一位导演情绪激动地说:“什么股票证券市场,你们看过茅盾的《子夜》吗?那就是万恶的证券市场。”当时大部分官员和老百姓还不了解股市,普遍认为,证券市场是令人丧心病狂的投机场所。

  事实也的确像是这样。1992年5月21日,上海股市交易价格限制全部取消,股市交易价格开始尝试由市场引导。仅仅3天,股票价格就一飞冲天,暴涨570%!其中,5只新股市价面值竟狂升2500%至3000%!

  5月21日,上证指数首度跨越千点,在全面放开股价的利好刺激下,大盘直接跳空高开在1260.32点,较前一天涨幅高达104.27%。

  “1992年后,股票供求严重失衡,股票价格暴涨。大多数股民都还是糊里糊涂地开始炒股,莫名其妙地发了大财。当年一位深交所门口卖饮料的老太跟着别人买了若干股深发展,后来变成了1000多万元,不可思议,示范效应太强了。”大通证券研究发展部副总经理刘嘉伟对本刊说。

  而同时在深圳交易所,1992年的“8·10”事件引发了社会动荡。1992年8月5日,深圳市邮局收到一个17.5公斤重的包裹,其中居然是2800张身份证——很多人借用身份证买股票抽签表。

  8月7日,深市发售新股认购抽签表500万张,中签率为10%,每张身份证可花100块钱买一张抽签表。“8月7日下午,各售卖点前就摆开了长龙,长龙迅速粗壮蜿蜒开来。有人拿来长长的绳子,男男女女紧紧抓住绳子甚至把绳子绕在手腕上。在最紧张的时候,人们紧紧抱住前面人的腰,不分男女。”王安描述说。

  情形一直延续到10日上午,这天早晨500万张新股抽签表早已发售完毕。“那些没买到表的互诉自己的委屈,交换各自的所见所闻,人们开始愤怒了。晚上大批大批的人群涌向市政府大门,深南路瘫痪。警察来了,武警来了,高压水炮来了。”王安说。后来政府清查出,内部截留私买的抽签表达10万多张,涉及金融系统干部、职工4180人。

  “8·10”事件让中央提高了警惕,“中央对股市的原则原本就是不做直接认可,以地方实验为主,摸着石头过河,试不好还可以关。”王连洲说。

  随后,1992年10月12日,国务院证券委员会成立。全国人大也开始讨论要不要制定《证券法》。管理层开始实施以“打压”为主的监管。

  “8·10”之后3天,上海股市也受影响猛跌22.2%。与5月25日的1420点相比,净跌640点,两个半月内跌幅达到45%。市场一冷就是一年多,加之1993年年中的金融整顿,连带着股市也跟着泛绿。

  到了1994年7月29日,“当时几百平方的交易大厅里凄凄惶惶地坐着四五个股民,其他股民都上街示威去了。行情显示屏下面贴着股民写的大字报,‘股灾’两个鲜红的大字触目惊心。”一位北京投资者对本刊回顾了当时的情景。

  7月30日,《人民日报》发表证监会与国务院有关部门共商稳定和发展股票市场的措施的文章,推出“停发新股、允许券商融资、成立中外合资基金”三大利好救市政策,引发8月狂潮。上证指数从当日收盘的333.92点,涨至9月13日的1052.94点,累计涨幅215.33%。

  “政策就是行情,在当时政策对于股市的作用可以说是立竿见影。”王连洲说。随后一年,中国股市的管理层陷入了同股市的不断较量中,股市也开始更加频繁地出现“三日暴涨一日回”。管理层“一会儿当鼓风机,一会儿当救火队,累得首任证监会主席刘鸿儒干到第三个年头,就坚决退下来。”王安说。

  到了1996年国庆节后,股市全线飘红。证监会坐不住了,团团冷风朝股市吹来,证监会连续发布了后来被称作“12道金牌”的各种规定和通知,意图降温,但行情仍节节攀高。12月16日《人民日报》特约评论员文章《正确认识当前股票市场》终于扼住了涨势的咽喉。文中给股市定性:“最近一个时期的暴涨则是不正常和非理性的。”

  话已至此,股民们只有奋力出走。那两天,股民见面不说“吃了吗?”只问“套了吗?”。

  后来第三任证监会主席周正庆在2003年8月回忆这篇社论时坦承,自?鹤橹俗戳苏馄缆墼蔽恼拢芮煨业笔惫霞菲婆菽U庖患罚墒杏质橇侥甓嗟南!?

  国家开发银行专家委员会副主任王大用在1998年的联办恳谈会上说:“这个市场是个小孩子,刚刚成长起来,还比较调皮。你把它左打一巴掌,右打一巴掌,打得半死不活了。又意识到还有很多重要的事情要依靠这个市场来办,这个被打得晕头转向的小孩子又背上了千斤重担。”如果说这个评论的前一句话适合1996年的情形,那么后一句话就是对1999年情形未卜先知的描述了。

  牛市1999:功利性透支

  1999年是一个狂热的年份,5月7日,周末,北约导弹袭击中国驻南斯拉夫联盟大使馆。5月10日,周一,沪深股市跳空而下,“导弹缺口”炸在每个股民心中。

  5月19日,星期三。一个出乎预料的日子。许多股民此前一天还准备“割肉”出逃。

  “谁想一开盘,呼拉拉大家没商量地往前直跑,领头的是东方明珠、广电股份、中信国安等,都是网络股!”一位股民回忆说。当天,沪市上涨51点,深市上涨129点。

  这一年的大背景有三:其一,网络泡沫的诞生;其二,中国内需启动非常难,有经济学家说当时美国的连续8年大牛市,大大增加了美国的消费,股市的钱挣得容易,花起来也爽快,这被称为“财富效应”,管理层觉得言之有理,遂动了在中国复制股市财富效应的念头;其三,当年国企改革进入攻坚阶段,需要大量的资金。

  5月19日后,大盘依然一片大红。股民们又开始纷纷担心,是否管理层又要吹冷风。但情况再次令他们跌破眼镜,政府很快出台了一系列利好火上浇油。

  6月10日,央行宣布第7次降息。6月14日,证监会官员发表讲话指出股市上升是恢复性的。

  6月15日,《人民日报》再次发表特约评论员文章《坚定信心,规范发展》重复股市是恢复性上涨,要求各方面要坚定信心,发展股市,珍惜股市的大好局面。6月25日,两市成交量竟达830亿元,创历史纪录。

  随后,管理层还允许三类企业获准入市,当天大盘跳空高开,上证指数当日大涨103.52点,涨幅6.59%。

  这一年,中国股市进入了空前的大牛市。但是,本刊接触的大部分人士认为,这轮牛市充满了功利的色彩。他们回忆说,1999年开始,一批批困难企业开始纷纷上市“脱困”,弄虚作假的企业越来越多,后来暴露出来的很多违规造假的企业都是那时上市的,将股市弄得“不伦不类”。

  1999年7月1日,《证券法》正式实施,而令人啼笑皆非的是,沪深股市以大幅下挫的方式来迎接中国证券业的第一部大法。

  1999年后,股市就迎来以网络为首的高科技风暴。上市公司触网忙,无论真假,只要名字沾上数码或者网络两字,股价就会扶摇直上。这种情况一直延续到2001年。

  后来一种流行的看法认为,这轮牛市透支了中国的股市前景。时至今日,中国股市仍未恢复到当年的点位。而“在大牛市后期,管理层对于股市的态度又发生了根本性的转变。”很多股市观察者这样说。

  2001:打开潘多拉魔盒

  2001年初,股市没出现什么社论,却以学者“掐架”的方式拉开调整序幕。1月初,经济学家吴敬琏抛出“赌场论”,接着又引发中国股市“推倒重来”的观点。旋即招来经济学家厉以宁、董辅、肖灼基等的反击,国内掀起股市大讨论:中国股市究竟向何处去?

  在这背后,人们发现,管理层对股市的态度开始微妙转变,挤泡沫成为主基调。可以佐证的是,年初朱基在一次内部会上强调,要把主要精力放在加强和改进金融监管上。“这意味着股市监管再次进入了风险管理阶段。”大通证券研发部副总经理刘嘉伟对本刊说。

  政策转向同时,减持国有股充实社保基金的说法也开始在股市上流传起来。当时,社保基金入不敷出,由于财政困难,需要减持国有股为社保基金“输血”。

  6月14日,媒体刊登国务院《坚持国有股筹集社会保障资金管理暂行办法》,这份文件是在财政部主导下产生的,财政部部长项怀诚当即表示:“国有股减持有利于证券市场的稳定发展,对证券市场来说是一个利好因素。”

  项的这句话仍令北京大户张新兰(化名)记忆犹新,她当时还坐在阜成门某交易所的大户室里,原本希望借利好买进,但很快就损失了几十万。

  她回忆,后来股民们认识到,减持就是变相摊派和扩容,而按照新股发行价格减持是杀富济贫。“我们用市价买的股票,怎么能跟那些最初按照资产规模划定的非流通股一样呢?这简直是大规模的圈钱。”张说。这的确是当年减持的硬伤,按市价减持遭到了股民们的强烈不满,被认为是“与民争利”,并从此激化了流通股和不流通股之间的矛盾。

  随后,大盘飘绿。7月26日,国有股减持在新股发行中正式开始,股市暴跌,沪指跌32.55点。到10月19日,沪指已从6月14日的2245点猛跌至1514点,50多只股票跌停。当年80%的投资者被套牢,基金净值缩水了40%,而券商佣金收入下降30%。

  很快,1500点“铁底”岌岌可危。“10月22日,股市的神经越绷越紧。下午3时,周小川像唐·吉诃德一般拎长枪跨瘦马直奔国务院。晚7时周回府。晚9时,中央电视台宣布,国有股减持办法暂停。”王安说。

  由五部委联合调研,由财政部主持的国有股减持办法,实行了3个月就被证监会一家宣布暂停了。

  “政府犯了一个大错,操之过急且缺乏慎重。”中金公司董事总经理许小年当时评价说。他的理由是,此时叫停减持,无异把股市下跌的所有罪过都归之于国有股减持,而真实的原因并非如此。后来据国家发改委体改所研究员李幛分析,大小有21个原因导致了当年股市暴跌,其中包括:1999年政策利好释放完毕,央行规范资金,银广厦等庄股内幕彻底曝光,当年股市整顿等等。

  让人印象深刻的是,当年许小年拿出K线图,其中显示在减持公布的6月14日,沪指创下此前11年来新高2245点(也是迄今为止的最高),直到7月13日,股市仍在高位盘整。提到那次叫停国有股减持,许至今唏嘘不已。

  现在看来,许的说法有一点没错:此后股权割裂成为中国股市的“原罪”。后来“海归派”官员又陆续推出了“市场化”和“国际化”改革,其中大多“水土不服”,在强力推行中,又在股权分置的框架下被扭曲。最后,股民们似乎找到了罪魁祸首,即股权分置。

  2001年中国股市仿佛打开了潘多拉魔盒,当年打错了国有股减持的算盘后,问题纷至沓来,而“股权分置也逐渐成了一个筐,什么问题都可以往里装。”财经评论人水皮对本刊说,似乎解决了股权分置,实现了全流通,破除了“原罪”,中国股市的问题就可以迎刃而解。

  之后,证监会全国征集国有股减持方案,最终收到4000多个方案,形成了“全流通”大讨论。

  2005年:试错式“全流通”

  从2001年到2005年,各种政策救市的老办法悉数用尽之后,股市仍一蹶不振。此前的“国九条”也不敌颓势,温总理讲话也被视为利空。“政策市几乎被彻底透支。”王连洲说。

  在乱象纷呈的股市中,被套股民比比皆是。“远离毒品远离股市”的呼声成为交响。股民们只有一个愿望:大市能够看涨,股指能够上升。然而,不断膨胀的融资需求同有限的股市承载之间的矛盾接踵而来。2001年后中国股市开始过度扩容,尽管股市一直走跌,但融资额却达到了近15年来融资额的40%左右。水越来越浅,航母却还会越来越多。

  上市企业仍旧千方百计“圈钱”,可谓使尽浑身解数:从整体上市到分拆上市,从信誓旦旦到原形毕露,从欠债不还到以股抵债……而好的企业却又纷纷海外上市。

  可以说,股市的种种根本性问题如市场管理体制、上市公司治理等仍然没有得到扭转。在管理体制方面,尽管审批制改为核准制,“但这不过是把猫叫做咪。”原证监会副主席高西庆对本刊说。

  与此同时,部分专家学者不断地呼吁尽快实现“全流通”。一些股民意见领袖如张卫星等人成为激进的全流通倡导者,他们的声音数度在近年中形成高潮。有意味的是,2005年愚人节,市场流传30年不搞全流通,股指大涨。“全流通”对股民而言仍是一场噩梦。

  同样都是“全流通”,为什么在学者和股民眼中会有如此大的差别?纷纷扰扰之后,市场观察者们发现:股民担心的是“变相扩容”的市场行为,而部分专家学者坚持的则是“纯洁”的理论推导。

  那么,按照他们的思路“全流通”,能解决当前股市的问题吗?“这几乎不可能,诸如中国股市的管理体制问题、上市公司的治理问题以及操纵股价的问题都不会因为‘全流通’而解决。”国家发改委体改所研究员李幛说。

  但是,“毕其功于一役”的幻想,最终使部分专家学者和股民意见领袖形成一种浓厚的“全流通情结”,全流通成为必须首先解决的问题。

  在2005年,谁要是回避“全流通”,谁就会被骂得狗血喷头。这种情形被水皮形象地描述为,“全流通是这个市场给(证监会主席)尚福林下的一个套,他说不,不行,大讨论的民粹情绪已经起来,说不等于回避现实,学鸵鸟;说行,也不行,他没有这么大权力,也负不起这个责任,方方面面还没有所谓的‘共识’”。

  正是在这种背景下,经国务院批准,中国证监会于今年4月29日发布了《关于上市公司股权分置改革试点有关问题的通知》,宣布启动股权分置改革试点工作。

  出人意料的是,5月9日,证监会迅速圈定了4家上市公司进入股权分置改革首批试点程序。当日市场反应却南辕北辙,上证指数重挫28点收于1130.84点,再创6年新低。

  原来激进的全流通主张者如韩志国、张卫星等却表示:试点方案不利于流通股股东,同国资委讨价还价也是太难。“市场对方向迷茫,封死向上的空间,向下的空间全面打开。”

  学者们陷入进退两难,“你要全流通,正在实现,你要扩股或者缩股,也能实现,但就是比例跟你想得不一样,你还要怎么样?”一位资深投资者对本刊说。他记得试点方案出来后,张卫星曾跟他通话抱怨,决策过程根本就不是一个“纯洁”的过程,是一个利益博弈的结果。

  随后,6月6日,证监会推出《上市公司回购社?峁诠煞莨芾戆旆?(试行)》,这天股指跌破千点。随后几天,证监会各种利好齐发,管理层苦口婆心要各路诸侯“勤王”。6月8日,股票市场创下了自2002年以来的最大单日涨幅和最大单日成交记录,沪深两市共有120只股票涨停,两市共成交317亿元。这被认为是“虚弱的井喷”。

  在打破了“全流通”的迷信后,人们开始把证券市场改革焦距重新调整到从市场制度到交易文化、从正向激励到透明度等一系列实质性变化上。

  “市场发展需要的并非短期物质刺激,而是长期发展的基本制度建设。”尽管这是一句老生常谈,但这可能是2005年改革留下的最可宝贵的财富。-

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解决股权分置:两个试点的不同遭遇

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http://www.sina.com.cn 2005年06月16日12:41 中国新闻周刊

  解决股权分置:两个试点的不同遭遇

  作为民企的三一重工的方案被通过,而清华同方的方案被中小股东说不,这凸显了此次股权分置改革的实质性问题:国有资产的持有者如何与流通股东议价?

  -本刊记者/陈晓

  2005年6月10日,是中国资本市场值得纪念的日子。三一重工本年度的第一次临时股东大会于当日举行,就第一支解决股权分置的试点股对价方案进行表决。

  与此次会议在中国资本市场上的破题意义相辉映,会议安排也别开生面。李谷一身着白纱粉花的礼服,献唱一曲拉开了股东大会的帷幕。验票间隙,还有形似女子十二乐坊的民乐演奏。三一重工对这场大会的精心安排,成为其对资本市场的另一“创新”。

  表决结果也未出意外。参加三一重工现场投票和网络投票的流通股股东共6144人,代表股权4603.4391万股,其中反对1197人,代表股权298.0387万股(占6.47%),弃权31人,代表股权3.99万股(占0.09%),赞成4916人,代表股权4301.4104万股(占93.44%)。其中 ,三一重工前十大流通股股东全部投了赞成票。

  为了这个投票结果,三一重工从今年4月就开始了“精心安排”。为平衡各方利益,三一重工执行总裁向文波奔波于各地沟通游说不断。5月31日回到三一重工的总部时,向文波开玩笑地对记者说,把一辈子的话都说完了。

  与机构投资者讨价还价

  2005年4月29日,证监会发布《关于上市公司股权分置改革试点有关问题的通知》(下称《通知》),宣布启动上市公司股权分置改革试点工作的决定。5月9日,证监会圈定金牛能源 (000937)、三一重工 (600031)、紫江企业 (600210)、清华同方 (600100)4家上市公司进入股权分置改革首批试点程序。

  由于三一重工是民营企业,因此其股权结构相对简单。解决股权分置牵涉的直接利益方只有大股东和流通股东。目前三一重工的第一大流通股股东——申万巴黎盛利精选持有521.82万股流通股,占流通股本8.7%,是流通股东中举足轻重的投票者。其余位列前十的流通股东也均为机构投资者。

  能否与机构投资者达成利益联盟,成为三一重工方案能否通过的关键。

  5月9日,三一重工董事会正式抛出中国股市第一个股权分置试点改制方案:流通股股东每10股获送3股及8元现金,这就是三一重工管理层为手中的18000万股非流通股买流通权的叫价。

  5月9日下午3时左右,流通股三大机构申万巴黎盛利精选、中信经典配置以及博时裕富等三家证券投资基金的代表,会集三一重工位于长沙经济技术开发区的总部,与公司董事长梁稳根等四名高层会面。议题便是三一重工提出的解决股权分置方案。

  “对机构投资者来说,用股票补偿的意义远远高于现金补偿。”申万巴黎盛利精选基金经理张惟闵说。因此他在会上提出了10送3.9股但取消派现的方案。

  但对三一重工的大股东来说,股票就意味着对公司的控制权。作为一家白手起家且业绩不错的企业,梁稳根曾很笃定的公开宣称:此生不会放弃对三一的控制权。因此在当晚的磋商中,三一方面表示,即使“现在有人出两倍的净资产买,三一肯定不会卖。” 谈判一直到10日凌晨2时左右才结束。

  5月25日,张惟闵赴京,就三一重工的试点方案与证监会沟通。申万巴黎总裁唐熹明告诉记者:“当时我们仍然希望取消现金派现,并且就此专门飞去北京与中国证监会沟通。”

  关于让利的争论也在非流通股东内部上演。据三一重工执行总裁向文波介绍,对方案进行第二次讨论的时候,有三个非流通股东认为让利太多,不同意修改方案。“最后是投票才通过了最终方案。”向文波说。

  中小股民:明码标价

  机构投资者与大股东之间可以有讨价还价的余地,对个人股东来讲,方案的出台则只能是“明码实价”。“谁代表个人股东?我都不知道他们在哪里。”三一重工执行总裁向文波说。缺乏畅通的表达机制,使得个人股东在投票前,再次充当了“沉默的大多数”。但三一重工方案出台后,股价上扬20%。向文波认为这就够了,“股价上涨给了流通股东选择机会。如果不满意方案,投资者用脚投票也能获利。”

  这确实成为很多中小股民的选择。对价定案公布后,三一重工换手率达到20%以上。“主要是中小投资者在买卖。”向文波说。这或许是无法在方案形成过程中施加影响的中小股民最常见的意见表达方式。

  而继续持有三一重工股票的中小股民,几乎都投了赞成票。

  6月10日,三一重工投票现场,记者看到一位专程从无锡赶来的何先生。他持有三一重工6200股股票。是无锡持有股票最多的股民。在无锡当地国联证券所的敦促下,何先生已经通过网络投了赞成票,但还是从江苏赶来现场“看看”。

  此次三一重工的临时股东大会有151名流通股东参加。像何这样,已经通过网络投票,还到现场体验股东感觉的人还不少。这些股民的共同特点是:都投了赞成票,但并不代表他们对方案非常满意。“如果方案不通过,股价下跌,我们自己受损。而且10股送3.5股派8元现金,是现有几家公司里让利最多的方案了。”何说。

  在股东大会投票现场,一位拥有8000股的股东以7999股赞成,1股反对的表决方式,代言很多个人股民的立场。事后,这张特殊表决票的主人——个人股东李伟杰向记者解释:“这次方案如果不能通过,股票肯定会下跌,作为流通股股东来说,肯定没有好处,因此我投赞成票;但1股的反对票,是要表明一种态度,即对方案的反对声音。”

  “超级否决权”撬翻清华同方

  几乎和三一重工同时开局,6月10日下午,清华同方在清华同方科技广场C座三层会议室召开2005年第一次临时股东大会,表决股权分置方案。清华同方的中小股东选择了另外一种意见表达方式。

  在这次股东大会之前,清华同方用资本公积金来完成10股转增10股的方案便饱受市场诟病。在这次股东大会表决前,一位陕西投资者当场指出,采用公积金转赠股本的办法,其实就是按发行价打折返还给流通股股东,“这跟商城购物返券没什么区别。”

  表决结果可谓先喜后悲。及至晚上六点,现场投票统计显示:现场参加总股数是3.038亿股,有3.037亿股同意,整体通过率仍然高达99%以上,其中流通股股东93.39%投了赞成票。很多网站已经发送了“清华同方方案通过”的快讯。

  但更多的流通股东选择在场外表达自己的意见。

  晚上八点,网络投票的加总扭转了清华同方的命运。参与网络和现场投票的流通股股东共计持股8934万股,其中赞成5531万股,反对3303万股,弃权100万股,赞成比例为61.91%。按照证监会有关规定,试点方案需经参加表决的流通股股东所持表决权的2/3以上才能通过。因此,试点方案未获通过。

  颐和财经首席分析师张卫星曾在投票前,号召股民运用超级否决权。根据证监会规定的2/3多数通过的游戏规则,个人股东可利用较少的票数,制衡一向被认为在股市搏弈里占有强势地位的大股东。张卫星告诉记者,按照他和经济学家刘纪鹏的测算,三一重工流通股否决权的含权系数为1 :11,即流通股的否决票是1票相当于11票。清华同方的流通股否决权含权系数为1:8.3。

  在清华同方的试点中,流通股民的“超级否决权”终于撬翻了大股东。股评人水皮极力赞美投反对票的清华同方流通股东:“当类别股东表决成为基金和上市公司利益交易的串谋工具时,我们诅咒过,痛骂过。但是试点表决结果告诉我们,当我们都举手投票时,类别股东表决就成为我们的武器。”

  一家通过一家被否,股权分置以这么冰火两重天的形式开局。

  而和三一重工圆满的开局相比,清华同方的失败对这场改革有着更深刻的意义。与三一重工纯粹的民营企业不同,清华同方57461.23万股的总股本中,还有28962.52万股国有股。因此,2005年6月10日清华同方的这次股东大会,不仅让我们听到了中国股市里,沉寂已久的中小股民说“不”的声音,还引发了另一个更深远的问题:在这场解决股权分置的改革中,国有资产的持有者该如何与流通股东议价?-

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趟过一条河还有五座山

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http://www.sina.com.cn 2005年06月16日12:41 中国新闻周刊

  趟过一条河,还有五座山

  股权分置试点的启动,意味着中国股市开始过河。过河之后,不可避免的就是前面排着的五座大山,不管爬得过去爬不过去,都得爬

  -文/水皮

  股权分置是一种中国特色,也是中国股市和以美国为代表的西方发达国家成熟股市的差异所在。由于三分之二的股份不流通,因而出现了流通股股东和非流通股股东的利益冲突。这就将全世界都解决不了的大小股东利益冲突更加复杂化了。

  股权分置这个问题不解决不行,解决了却不等于解决了中国股市的出路。和股权分置问题相比,中国股市至少有五个问题的迫切性要排在股权分置改革之前。

  问题之一是法律放纵。由于中国股市国有控股上市公司占绝大多数,更由于中国股市的定位一度成为解贫脱困的渠道,因此法律环境非常糟糕。上市公司弄虚作假成灾,侵害公众利益肆无忌惮,而违规成本极低。

  问题之二是上市公司质量。由于问题一的存在,因此1370多家上市公司当中绩优的少、垃圾的多;具有投资价值的少,具有投机价值的多。以国外投行的标准看,有价值的公司不及十分之一。

  问题之三是上市公司结构。由于问题二的存在,上市公司中小公司多,大公司少,能够对市场起价值中枢稳定作用的蓝筹股更少。由于市场承接力有限,优质大型国企只能选择海外上市,反过来又导致A股市场边缘化。

  问题之四是机构投资者。机构投资者是管理层一直超常规培育的对象,目前基金的规模已经达到4000亿,持有的股票市值已经占流通市值的22%以上,但是由于结构单一,操作理念雷同,基金在市场上不但起不到平衡器的作用,反而加剧了大盘的震荡幅度。正是基金重仓股的斩仓才导致了上证指数跌破千点。因此改善机构投资者的结构,引入长线资金已成燃眉之急。

  问题之五是券商危机。由于历史的遗产和现实的失误,券商的资金黑洞高达1000亿左右。长期熊市的结果是,券商全行业的亏损,而且亏损幅度在不断加大,已然构成局部金融危机。关停并转是查处违规券商的办法之一,但是对尚属规矩的大券商的财政注资和央行再贷款,也是必须走的拯救之路。可以这么说,作为资本市场承上启下桥梁的券商,其危机一天不化解,中国股市就一天不能走出低迷。

  股权分置试点的启动,意味着中国股市开始过河。过河之后,不可避免的就是前面排着的五座大山,不管爬得过去爬不过去,都得爬。-

  (作者系财经评论人)

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南方都市报:中国企业海外并购成风的背后 

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http://www.sina.com.cn 2005年07月16日16:38 南方都市报

  作者:赵晓

  国内媒体近来纷纷关注海尔并购美国家电巨头美泰公司,如果再追溯到联想并购IBM的PC业务,似乎给我们这样一个提示:中国进入跨国并购时代。这样的判断是否准确?而一个个海外并购个案的背后有怎样更为深刻的含义呢?


  毫无疑问,中国必将进入一个跨国并购的时代,而这样一个时代的到来是有着深刻的经济背景的。

  最主要的原因在于中国资源秉赋条件的逆转。一方面,中国改革开放以来,财富增长很快,居民的储蓄存款大量增长,企业积累的资金也高速增长,可以说中国已具备国内国外大量投资的资源条件。

  另一方面,中国一直保持大量地引进外资,也就是说中国始终是一个资本净输入的国家。由于贸易和资本的“双顺差”,中国的外汇储备越来越多,统计数据显示,今年上半年国家外汇储备余额已经达到7110亿美元,同比增长51.1%。这样的状态必然造成外汇供需不平衡的状态,人民币升值的压力凸显。面对人民币升值压力,有三种方式可以缓解:一是把进来的美元花出去;二是把国内需求降下来;三是调整汇率。目前政府主要是采取第一和第二种方法的结合来应付升值压力。其中通过购买国外原材料、对外投资、跨国并购等方式将美元花出去是合理选择。

  没有一个国家可以长期保持“双顺差”,也没有一个国家可以长期保持资本净流入。随着中国企业的资本、资金越来越多,资本、存款、外汇比较富裕,由资本净流入向资本净输出转化成为一种必然的趋势,很多国家例如日本、韩国都经历了同样的过程。

  其实,在国内的发达地区,早已经进入到了资本的净输出阶段,例如温州炒房团、炒煤团的出现就是证明。某些地方的资本过剩,可以选择向中国的西部、东北等地输出,当然也可以向资本收益率比较高的发达国家输出。

  资本净输出的方式,可以是直接到国外投资,也可以是通过并购达到企业发展的目的。考虑到上述背景,我们可以想象,中国的跨国并购将是一个战略阶段的行为,而不是一个短期的偶然为之的行为。

  从企业的角度来看,中国的很多企业已经成长到相当的规模,要继续发展,提高竞争力,充分利用全球资源优势和市场环境将成为下一阶段企业发展的核心目标。只有如此,企业才能拥有最强大的国际竞争力。当然,企业并购的具体目的可能不尽相同,比方说联想并购IBM的PC业务,是为了迅速实现联想品牌的国际化,而在购买现代电子部门的案例中,收购的目标是技术。

  尽管中国将会有越来越多的资本输出,但就目前中国的整体环境来看,还存在很多局限之处。

  首先,中国企业进行国际并购对国内的金融、证券市场提出了更高的要求。只有良好的金融和资本市场的服务,才能降低国内企业的国际并购的交易成本,而国内的金融和证券企业目前的状况实在太差了,所以只能靠跨国公司的服务,钱给人家赚了,效率还要打个折扣。此外,中国企业国际并购的政务成本同样高昂。就目前来说,一个并购想法产生后,向有关部门报批,获得批准后融资,之后再报审批,政府审批环节冗杂,效率很低。国际化的运作需要成熟的管理制度、良好的金融证券环境,而过多的政府管制以及低效率的金融证券服务可能会使很多有竞争力的企业丧失良机。

  其次,中国的很多企业都具有先天的不足,尤其是国有企业,在国内时监管上就存在很多不力的地方,到国际市场运作之后如何监管,会不会成本更高?是一个非常现实的问题。以中航油事件为例,一定要避免“走出去”成为“流出去”的发生。

  此外,中国的国有企业进行国际并购,通常是利用国内市场的垄断资源来进行的,往往财大气粗,出手阔绰。但是,每一项投资都有风险,一旦并购失败谁来埋单?恐怕最终还是国内民众。但普通民众没有办法表达自己的立场,也没有人重视他们的意见。虼耍杂诶霉诼⒍献试唇泄什⒐旱钠笠担詈媚芙⒏咏∪闹贫取T谀壳暗那榭鱿拢泄夭棵乓欢ㄒ圆⒐旱那熬啊⒒褚嫘宰龀雒魅返钠拦溃苊夤让跋铡R蛭獠唤鼋鍪瞧笠档母鎏逍形枪叵档焦窀@拇笫拢?

  相关专题:媒体观点



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数字商业时代:中国企业海外并购热背后的理由

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http://finance.sina.com.cn 2005年07月15日 17:07 《数字商业时代》

  刘刚

  不管是联想、明基还是海尔都在积极实施海外并购,因为对他们而言除了并购其他方式的投资已经不能满足现实需要

  就在明基于2005年6月8日在北京正式宣布收购德国西门子全球手机业务之后仅仅2周之内,又传来消息:海尔已经联合两家美国私人投资公司提交了收购美国第三大家电企业美泰克的申请,出价为12.8亿美元。在跨国并购中,近期中国企业可谓频频出手,“中国军团”已经成为一支不可忽视的力量,引起国际企业界和媒体的广泛关注。

  国际并购中的“中国军团”

  事实上,中国企业已有超过20年的海外并购历史。早在1984年,中银集团和华润集团就联手收购了香港最大的上市电子集团公司——康力投资有限公司,首开中国企业海外并购的先河。但长期以来,并购并未成为中国企业海外扩张的主要形式。上世纪90年代后期,当全球出现大规模的并购浪潮时,中国企业基本上只能远观。

  但从2000年开始,中国企业的海外并购步伐明显加快,开展了一系列非常有影响的并购活动,包括:浙江华立并购飞利浦的CDMA部门,发家于广东惠州的TCL相继并购了德国施耐德电视公司、法国汤姆逊公司和阿尔卡特手机业务,京东方并购韩国现代显示株式会社,靠卖电脑起家的联想集团经过20年的奋斗之后将IBM的个人电脑业务收入囊中,中海油收购印尼油田和澳大利亚西北大陆架天然气项目,上汽并购韩国第四大汽车生产企业双龙汽车,五矿并购世界矿业巨头诺兰达……越来越多的中国企业正在将其并购的触角伸向海外的石油、天然气、铁矿、钢铁厂及各类消费品制造业。

  2005年2月初商务部发布的统计资料表明:到2004年底,经商务部批准备案的中国非金融类境外企业达到8300多家,累计对外直接投资近370亿美元。据有关专家估计,在目前对外直接投资中,大约有40%是以跨国并购的方式进行的。无怪乎世界著名投资银行雷曼兄弟公司会预测:“2005年以及未来数年,中国将成为世界并购圈中的重要国家。”

  “中国军团”海外并购的动因

  这种海外并购热潮的兴起,是中国企业国际化进程发展到一定阶段的产物。一般而言,企业的国际化进程大多从出口起步,而后是绿地投资(新建企业),最后才是海外并购。

  一方面,经过20多年的改革开放,中国企业无论从市场、资源的角度而言,还是从技术、管理的角度而言,都有了实施海外并购的需要。正如海尔CEO张瑞敏所言:“海尔的国际化到了一个关口,正遭受国外竞争对手的阻击,过去了就是成功人士,过不去就将成为烈士。”另一方面,到2004年底,中国外汇储备已经超过6000亿美元,庞大的国家外汇储备再加上国家开发银行等政策性银行的支持,为中国企业的海外并购创造了有利的条件。

  从市场的角度而言,国际市场对于中国企业具有越来越重要的意义。在我国第三次全国工业普查的285种工业产品中,生产能力利用不足(生产能力利用率<75%)的产品就有218种,占76.5%,表明众多产业和产品的生产能力普遍过剩。随着国内相对需求的进一步萎缩,生产能力闲置程度进一步加剧,这在一些行业(如家用电器)中表现非常突出。因此,开拓海外市场成为必然。

  同时,为了缓解中国出口产品对本国所造成的巨大的就业压力,近些年来,许多国家或地区实施了反倾销调查。2004年,共有15个国家或地区对中国出口产品启动了49起反倾销调查,其中,发达国家是对中国产品实施反倾销措施的主力,2004年发达国家对华反倾销新立案件31起,所占比例为63.3%。自2001年加入WTO以来,中国遭受的反倾销调查数一直位居WTO各成员的首位,而中国本土企业的胜诉率只有35.5%。当其他国家或地区纷纷对中国出口产品举起反倾销盾牌时,中国出口产品的低成本优势也就大打折扣了,对外直接投资成为开拓海外市场的重要途径。

  最初,中国企业实施的“走出去”战略几乎是清一色的绿地投资形式。以海尔为例,1999年公司在菲律宾建立了第一家海外工厂,此后,海尔的工厂又开到了美国腹地南卡罗莱那州。毫无疑问,这种绿地投资形式可以使中国企业逐渐积累海外扩展的经验,降低海外扩张的风险,但缺点也非常突出,建设的周期较长,扩张的速度过慢。2004年,海尔全部收入达到1080亿元人民币,而来自海外的收入仅有10亿美元,不到其总收入的8%。在美国,海尔占领的主要是以小冰箱为主的小家电市场,没有进入家电的主流市场,市场形象定位也处于较低的水平。

  在这种情况下,海外并购自然就受到了中国企业的青睐。但是,如何利用被并购企业已有的销售渠道和已经深入人心的品牌是它们关注的一个焦点。在以280万美元收购美国汽车零部件制造商UAI公司21%的股权而成为其第一大股东之后,万向集团利用其品牌、销售渠道和售后服务网络,增加了自身产品的销量。

  此外,自然资源的短缺是影响中国工业化进程的一个重大瓶颈。在未来20年内,中国的石油、天然气将至少出现上亿吨的供给缺口。因此,中石化、中石油、中海油等三大石化企业无一例外地参与了海外并购,以便获得更多的优质能源供应来源。首钢、宝钢等钢铁生产企业因为同样的原因在秘鲁、澳大利亚收购铁矿。

  当然,中国企业海外并购的背后还有技术方面的动因。明基对西门子手机业务的收购,可以使它完全获得西门子在手机领域拥有的1000多项专利,覆盖范围包括2G、2.5G和3G,仅核心专利就有几十个。

  国际品牌企业缘何退出

  一个很有意思的现象是:近几年来,中国企业实施海外并购的对象都是一些大名鼎鼎的品牌企业。那么,这些国际品牌企业何以愿意将手中的某项乃至全部业务拱手让出呢?

  国际品牌企业退出某一业务领域,主要是出于强化主业的考虑。它们所退出的领域,大多面临着巨额亏损的困扰,无论是阿尔卡特的手机业务、IBM的个人电脑业务还是西门子的手机业务,都面临着相同的亏损困境。在这种情况下,与其大量消耗现金,还不如适时退出,以便集中人力、财力、物力发展自己的核心业务,壮大自己的核心竞争力。

  以西门子为例,为了甩出手机这一“包袱”,西门子甚至为明基送上了一个令人艳羡的“大礼包”:西门子手机业务在净值无负债的基准下,将包括现金、研发中心、相关知识产权、制造工厂及生产设备等在内的资产完全转移给明基;由西门子提供约计2.5亿欧元的现金与服务,投入未来手机核心专利的开发、营销及品牌推广活动;以5000万欧元购入明基股份,成为明基的战略性股东。

  这样,一方面是中国企业具有扩张的需要和扩张的实力,另一方面是国际品牌企业由于丧失竞争优势而急于退出某一业务领域,双方之间的并购交易也就在所难免。

  可见,中国企业的海外并购将是中国经济发展到一定阶段的必然产物,是中国经济持续、稳定发展的必由之路。当然,中国企业能否真正实现海外并购的初衷,达到提升效率的目的,将取决于它们海外并购实施过程中的谈判能力以及实施并购后的整合能力。

  更多精彩评论,更多传媒视点,更多传媒人风采,尽在新浪财经新评谈栏目,欢迎访问新浪财经新评谈栏目。


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联想豪赌

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http://finance.sina.com.cn 2004年12月11日 15:18 《财经》杂志

  收购总资产四倍于己的IBM个人电脑业务,对联想是令人垂涎的机会,还是困难重重的险途?

  本刊记者 凌华薇 王以超/文

  12月8日,联想集团(0992.HK)与美国商业巨人IBM(行情 论坛)共同签署了双方酝酿达 13个月之久的转让协议:联想将斥资12.5亿美元购入IBM 的全部PC(个人电脑)业务。收购完成之后,占全球PC市场份额第九位的联想一跃升至第三位,仅次于戴尔和惠普,而新公司成立之后,总部将迁往纽约。

  一夜之间,中关村土生土长的联想集团(行情 论坛)成功登陆美利坚,不期然拥有了庞大的国际采购、运营和销售平台。或许这种反差过于夺目,业界立刻出现了基调完全相反的激烈评价。誉之者称其雄才大略,毁之者则目为啼笑姻缘。

  “这是中国企业难以拒绝的机会,但同时风险巨大。”相较之下,联想掌门人柳传志的表态则道出了这一交易的实质:一场收益与风险并存的豪赌。

  IBM下嫁

  “三年前IBM有此提议时,我和柳总都觉得是天方夜谭。”收购后已由联想集团CEO升任董事长的杨元庆在接受媒体采访时如此表示。

  这个“神话故事”的实现速度之快远远超出了人们的想像。据《财经》了解,至迟到一年半以前,IBM就已正式聘请美林证券公司在全球范围内寻找买家。2003年10月左右,美林将联想排到了目标收购者的第一位。美林中国区总裁刘二飞与联想集团董事长柳传志、财务总监马雪征私交甚笃,而美林总部则与IBM关系密迩,借助这一关系,美林开始安排双方面谈。

  “开始的时候,双方都有些怀疑。”美林证券负责此案的亚太区兼并与收购部主管戴凯宁说。IBM的担心是,对于如此大规模的收购,联想是否具备足够的财力;联想的疑虑则在于自身运营能力。2003年底,联想开始进行细致的尽职调查,并聘请麦肯锡为顾问,全面了解IBM的PC业务和整合的可能。2004年春节过后聘请了高盛作为财务顾问。

  此次交易的中介机构阵容空前。高盛和美林调兵遣将,动用人数之多,均超过以往亚太地区(除日本)的任一购并案,高盛美国方面的负责人Maylap更是促成惠普与康柏合并的经手人。

  联想方面决策者自然是以董事局主席柳传志、联想集团CEO杨元庆为代表的董事局,负责日常协调工作的则是副总裁乔松和财务总监马雪征。谈判团先后涉及的联想内部人员超过百人。

  “整个谈判过程中,最重要的事情是让联想觉得坦然(comfortable),让它有自信来运营这一国际性业务。”一位参与并购的中介人士声称。由于IBM的PC业务是IBM整体业务的有机组成部分,因此如何保证其剥离出来后的品质是一项非常艰苦的工作。

  整个谈判联想最终公布了一份长达37页的协议,其中包括品牌、融资协议、过渡性服务协议等40多个服务协议。主旨在于确认联想在拥有这部分业务后,仍可以从IBM其它部门的支持和服务中获利。

  谈判是一个漫长的马拉松过程,“所有人员都长期处于出差状态,因为时间非常长,谈判地点换来换去,有时在北京,有时在纽约,有时在香港。”

  由于整个交易谈判期间,双方保密工作密不透风,很难获知谈判之间的曲折。不过事实表明,与IBM接触的确实不止联想一家。据称,在确定联想为最终谈判对象之前,就有一家美国的财务投资人表示出了浓厚兴趣,其开价也与联想相近。事实上倘若成交,其安排架构要远比联想简单,因为不涉及品牌整合等诸多问题,资产剥离要容易得多。然而,IBM最终还是选择了联想。

  较之财务投资者,联想的优势在于更能提供上升空间。分析人士认为,与惠普和康柏的合并不同,IBM和联想优势更具互补性,甚至连客户都极少重叠。“举个例子来说,东芝是经常被提及的战略买家,但它是IBM更为直接的竞争对手,如果业务合并,会出现revenue attrition(收入耗损),因为有很多产品和客户都是重叠的。”

  事实上,对于这次“蛇吞象”式的交易,联想内部也曾有过多次反对的讨论,包括董事局、大股东都有过很多质疑。但“联想是经过内部反复讨论,经过两三年的深思熟虑,才终于下定决心的”。高盛亚洲副董事长、投资银行部联席主管宋学仁声称。

  无论如何,12月8日双方已正式公布协议,剩下的只待双方股东大会通过,以及相关部门的批准(比如税务豁免,欧美市场的准入等),整个交易预计在明年二季度完成。

  作价几何

  根据12月7日双方签订的资产购买协议(下简称协议),联想将向IBM支付12.5亿美元(约97.3亿港元)。其中现金支付为6.5亿美元现金,另6亿美元则以联想股票作价,包括以发行价每股2.675港元向其发行最多821234569股(占比8.9%)新股份和921636459股(占比10%)新无投票权股份。

  联想购买的资产包括IBM的全部PC业务,收购资产按美国GAAP编制的未经审核的账面净值为负6.8亿美元。协议还提及在IBM体系内该业务账面净值实为负9.76亿美元,包括总资产15.34亿美元,总负债25.1亿美元。负6.8亿美元的口径是因为剥离了服务器的交叉业务、与LG的合作项目、长城电脑(资讯 行情 论坛)的股权等。

  由于收购的净资产权益为负值,媒体也普遍将其视为联想的支付成本之一。不过,这并非意味着联想需要把这一账面负资产填平,所需面对更多的是现金流问题。因为该项资产年收入上百亿美元,在净资产为负的情况下,如果未来现金流减少,就会造成支付问题。对此,高盛和麦肯锡都作过不同的分析,比如在恶劣的情况下公司的现金流是否充足,这些都为联想提供了价格考量和进入与否的决策基础。

  至于股票作价的确定,则有两个因素。一方面是联想不愿动用太多的现金,希望以较为保守的方式支付;另一方面IBM也有意持有联想股票,一是分享其可能的利润,二是仍将维持其在PC业务的影响力。这对它的整体销售策略有着很大影响。毕竟,像“THINK”这样的品牌被认为是IBM的名片。事实上,IBM以18.9%的比例持股联想,已接近收购项目股权交易的上限。

  “超过20%的投资就要并表,那就不是收购,而是合资了。”一位参与谈判的投行人士解释。

  根据IBM2003年报显示,其PC业务部分亏损2.5亿美元,从账面看,昔日的PC之王在这一领域已步履蹒跚,这也是IBM待价而沽的最主要原因。不过,高盛公司则认为过往业绩乏善可陈不是什么负面的事情。在他们看来,IBM过去两三年间造成亏损的一个重要因素是高额的质保费支出,而这一因素在协议安排中已经部分剔除。

  根据协议相关内容,由于2001年IBM的个人电脑产品中安装了有问题的元器件,使得此后三年的质保费明显超标,相关支出增加每年在1.5亿-2亿美金左右。协议载明,IBM在交易交割后首两年会向联想据此进行补偿,最多以1亿美元为限。显然这会使得收购资产的年亏损额有所减少。

  然而无论如何,“独立来看,IBM的PC部分仍然是亏损的。”摩根士丹利12月出具的一份研究报告称。

  由于面对的是IBM公认的亏损业务,在估值和定价方面,柳传志从一开始就要求要做到对各种风险的衡量,确保不会诱发对联想造成重创的因素。“在估值时采信数据方面,联想的态度一直非常保守而不是乐观”,参与谈判的投资人士称。

  超越“收购”?

  “如果这仅仅是个资产上的交易的话,我不确定联想是不是会做。”高盛亚洲副董事长宋学仁强调,这不是个简单的资产交易,而是战略上的合作。在他看来,随着IBM与联想的长期合作,前者较之竞争对手占领中国市场的优势将大大加强。无独有偶,摩根的分析报告也支持了这一说法。

  根据协议,IBM所持有的联想的股票,禁售期为三年,但这并不意味着IBM在三年后一定出售。麦肯锡北京分公司总经理吴亦兵对《财经》指出,IBM不可能完全没有PC,否则在企业全方位服务这一核心竞争力方面,很可能就会遭到戴尔和惠普的蚕食。

  比如,要争夺一家银行,它既需要IBM的解决方案,也需要笔记本电脑,如果不能提供,就相当于把这个市场开放给了竞争对手。戴尔、惠普则可以步步为营,从笔记本电脑向服务进逼。显然,已经成为亚太地区(除日本之外)最大的PC厂商的联想,是IBM调整PC策略,实现“放而不弃”目标的最佳人选。

  对于联想而言,与“大象”一起跳舞,当然并不轻松。但除此之外,难道还有更轻松的选择吗?

  2001年4月,“少帅”杨元庆正式执掌联想集团,三年过后,新业务如软件、服务、手机以及数码产品等多属只开花不结果。不管国际化,还是研发的积累,都还在艰难起步阶段,九成以上的营业额,仍然来自中国内地市场,这显然不能让投资者满意。

  联想一直在思考的,就是增长来自何处。对于现阶段的中国公司而言,每个行业的可能答案都来自国际市场。尤其在PC行业,任何地域的企业,面临的实际上都将是国际化竞争。联想已经占据了中国三成的市场,自己不出去,也躲不开与外国公司的竞争,迟早它们会进来的。

  IBM的PC业务除了亏损,几乎能给予联想所匮乏的所有要素。同时取得品牌、通道、销售人员、管理团队、售后服务等,联想实际上可以在IBM搭建的平台上从事业务,这些都是很难用金钱衡量的。

  但资本市场,总是相信数字胜过任何想像空间。消息公布后,12月9日,联想在香港的股价收盘于2.575港元,比上一个交易日下跌了3.74% 。此前的11月15日,其股价曾经一度冲到了3港元以上。相映成趣的是,IBM当日股价上涨了0.57% ,戴尔的股价则上涨了1.33%,只有惠普的股价下跌了0.28%。

  整合之路

  联想收购IBM的PC业务之后,双赢的想像空间究竟有多大?

  摩根士丹利的一份研究报告称,在交易完成之后,IBM的税前利润率可望获得1%的增长,其直接收益将在9亿-12亿美元。

  按照联想集团新任董事长杨元庆的设计,第一步就是整合供应链。这很容易理解,因为物的整合,什么时候都比人容易进行。分析人士指出,仅采购成本的节约就是一笔不小的数字。因为年产40万台笔记本电脑的采购单价,显然与400万台不可同日而语。

  根据联想的测算,目前IBM的毛利率为22%,而联想还不足15%。在采购成本进一步下降的情况下,只要能够有效地降低管理等成本,IBM PC业务的扭亏,以及联想纯利水平的提升,都不会太遥远。

  第二阶段,则是在一年或者一年半之后开始对整个市场和销售渠道的整合,这将是对新联想的管理层真正的考验。一种估算认为,到2007年,就可以产生每年高达2亿美元的协同效应。当然联想的目标显然不止这些,最重要的远景则是充分整合后,在国际范围内开疆拓土。

  事实上,联想和IBM在谈判过程中,如何整合就是重中之重,几乎90%的精力都花在细节谈判上。甚至连合作战略,都持续谈判了四五个月的时间。双方达成的品牌和服务方面的过渡性协议,也是非常细致。

  然而整合之路,仍不会是坦途。惠普个人系统全球副总裁Deborah Nelson对《财经》表示,联想面临的主要挑战是向其目前所熟悉的中国市场之外扩张,在世界级舞台上表演所要面对的可不仅仅是渠道和供应链。此外,联想还将面临缺乏在中国以外地区的品牌认知、应对全球电脑市场激烈价格竞争以及合并导致的文化冲突等诸多问题。

  戴尔公司的创始人戴尔在接受《金融时报》采访时,也不屑地问:“计算机行业,上一次成功的兼并是什么时候的事情了?”虽然杨元庆也给予了回击,但联想要真正形成与戴尔决战的态势,绝非易事。即使合并之后,新联想的全球市场份额,也不足戴尔的一半,何况到现在为止,戴尔的扩张还没有终止的迹象。

  与IBM签订的过渡期协议只是一种必要的保护,但远不是一种保证。如何稳定海外的管理层,尤其是在美国市场,仍是一个挑战。一旦大批人员出现流失,显然会极大地降低此次交易的含金量。因为国际化的挑战,首先是人的问题,其次才是钱的问题。

  IBM中国公司PC部门的一些员工就对《财经》指出,在IBM中国公司,很多时候工作语言都是英语,或者夹杂着大量英语,而且有着一套跨国公司中比较通行的管理文化。联想也开始对员工进行培训,但应非短期之功。而且在一些人看来,联想的文化,也带有更强的国企色彩,其间的融合,即使有严谨的规则指引,也难免痛苦之处。

  在薪酬体制方面,IBM与联想差异也比较明显。由于IBM对销售等人员执行的是一种高奖金政策,其人均薪酬支出几乎相当于联想的2-2.5倍。虽然IBM表示员工薪酬将保持,但很多人仍怀疑这种政策在以降低成本为第一目标的联想,能否真正得到贯彻。

  更重要的是,联想的高层管理中也鲜有国际运作经验者,这也是联想集团原董事长柳传志最头疼的一点。如果两者之间缺乏良好的沟通能力,即使有意愿,也很可能出现南辕北辙的局面,使得整合的努力面临事倍功半的危险。

  要打造一个全球性的品牌,即使借助IBM原有的“THINK”系列的张力,五年的过渡期,到底是长还是短?据说利盟打印机完成品牌切换过程只花了三年的时间。但台式机和笔记本显然竞争要惨烈得多,也要复杂得多。

  一种分析认为,尽管IBM签了诸多补充协议,借以维持联想手中IBM品牌的影响力,然而,IBM的PC业务并不像它的软件和微电子业务可随意切割,一旦脱离母体,将会失去50%-75%的原有客户。倘若如此,这对于联想将是一个严峻的挑战。

  如果整个交易能够在2005年二季度完成,2008年奥运会正好位于过渡期的中间,这应该不是一种巧合。联想的奥运会合作伙伴计划,显然也将成为整合过程一个难得的“试金石”。■


  点击此处查询全部联想新闻 全部IBM新闻





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IT时代周刊封面:失败魔咒下的企业海外并购

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http://www.sina.com.cn 2005年07月07日 11:08 IT时代周刊


《IT时代周刊》7月上期封面
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  《IT时代周刊》特约撰稿人/秦合舫 王成钧 发自北京

  编者按:TCL的坎坷、联想的前景不明和海尔新并购的延缓,已让我们开始为中国企业的选择感到一丝忧虑。这不是杞人忧天——一方面,国际经验已真切显示,并购之路既非捷径,更非坦途;另一方面,中国企业在跨国并购中表现出来的稚嫩,让人深刻感受到我们还没有底气十足。

  不能叫停刚刚起步的跨国并购,也不能挫伤中国企业的国际化信心,但如何走出一条独特的跨国企业发展之路,需要中国企业家的“雄才大略”,但更需要一系列的反思。

  中国企业最欠缺的是核心竞争力,而这个东西又刚好是“偷不走、买不来、拆不开、带不走”的无价资产,任何企业在它的面前无法投机取巧,倒是需要怀揣世界的“心”,戒除浮躁,强身健体,才能实现中国企业走向国际化的宏伟目标。

  20年后,柳传志还清晰地记得第一次参加IBM PC代理商会议时的窘迫与惶恐。

  那天,40多岁的柳特意穿上父亲赠送的一套老式西装,坐在最后一排,没任何发言机会。那时的联想,还只是中关村众多国外品牌PC代理商中毫不起眼的一个。任何一次小小的失误都可能导致满盘皆输。

  弹指20年,这家当时连“搬箱子”业务都做得勉强的中科院计算所下属企业,已经成长为在中国独占30%市场份额、亚洲第1、世界第9的电脑制造商。意犹未尽的是,柳传志始终以一个“蛇吞象”的故事把IBM的PC业务纳入囊中,一举坐拥世界第3大电脑供应商的交椅。

  站在鲜花和镁光灯下的柳传志宣布这一消息时难掩心中的激动:对比20年前,台上与台下、奢华与寒酸,从微观的视角彰显了改革开放带给中国和中国企业翻天覆地的变化。

  发生在柳传志身上的一切,不过是中国企业国际化之路的一个缩影。

  第一章:失败“魔咒”下的并购

  发生在联想身上的故事并非个案。在此之前,中国网通并购香港盈科电讯、京东方并购韩国现代液晶项目和冠捷科技显示器项目,以及中国最大的电视机制造商TCL连连出手,把欧洲传统的家电名牌施奈德(德国)、汤姆逊(法国)、阿尔卡特(法国)的相关业务置于麾下;而中国最大的家电制造商海尔在经历了数年的海外市场开拓之后,正竞购美国第4大家电制造商美泰克,意欲借此跻身世界3大白色家电厂商行列。

  跨国并购是一种捷径?

  一波又一波的跨国收购让华尔街感到有必要迅速调高对中国企业的认识,美国洛杉矶的斯特拉斯海姆全球顾问公司总裁唐纳德·斯特拉斯海姆说:“中国将掀起今后10年世界历史上最大的并购热。”

  必须注意到,已经发生、正在发生或将要发生的类似并购还有很多,其中的买主无疑都是中国企业的优秀代表。但如果把它们的成功仅归因于高速扩张的市场容量, 显然有些武断。在全球竞争最激烈、也最国际化的中国市场,它们无疑都是战胜了包括跨国公司在内的大量竞争对手之后才最后胜出。接下来,成为跨国公司、进军“世界500强”就成了中国众多企业心中难以磨灭的图腾。但是在发展到一定规模之后,中国企业普遍遇到了难以进一步做大的一道“坎”,而收购就仿佛成了实现这一“辉煌”愿景的捷径。

  有趣的一幕是,在中国企业高速成长的同时,它们的国外同行和对手却在无奈地远离辉煌,日渐没落,甚至走入困境。IBM作为PC的鼻祖,其PC业务却成为数年连续亏损的鸡肋;施耐德、汤姆逊和阿尔卡特等欧洲知名品牌,也在遭遇着同样的煎熬。

  一个要买,一个要卖;一个缺少品牌、渠道、研发,一个拥有这些资源但渴望有人来盘活,新的时局似乎为中国企业提供了通过并购进入国际市场,成为跨国公司的“战略机遇期”,他们似乎没有理由放弃这“天上掉馅饼”的好事。因此有德国一家咨询公司振振有辞地提供数据指称去年该国就有近300家企业被中国企业买下。

  德国人的担忧很现实。目前,中国鼓励国内企业走到海外去。从海尔出巨资将自身的生产基地建立在海外,到TCL以区区800万欧元收购施奈德,再到联想收购IBM的PC业务,中国企业向海外扩张已经引起了国内外广泛的关注。

  上帝果真如此青睐中国企业吗?

  失意的比例

  上个世纪80年代美国曾经出现所谓“并购风”,在90年代形成愈演愈烈之势。1990年,全球企业并购案所涉及的金额超过4640亿美元;1998年这个数字猛增到25,000亿美元,而在2004年,该数字更达到创纪录的10万亿美元。

  并购案例越来越多,并购金额也越来越巨大,但对并购效果的统计并不乐观。美国著名企业管理机构科尔尼公司多年的统计数据显示,只有20%的并购案例能够实现最初的设想,大部分的并购都以失败告终。

  20∶80,一个悬殊的比例似乎成了套在企图通过并购实现成长的企业头上的“魔咒”,很多企业在并购之前都认为自己会是那幸运的20%,结果却证明他们不过又是并购失败案例群中的一个新注脚。日本索尼公司和“美国在线”就是这样的“冒失鬼”。

  索尼在发展势头最劲的1989年以34亿美元现金(当时日本公司收购美国公司的最高出价)收购哥伦比亚电影公司。索尼创始人盛田昭夫一直有一个梦想——不能仅满足于当一家娱乐技术供应商,而是要成为娱乐产品的制造商。购买好莱坞的电影公司和资料库正是构筑索尼娱乐王国的重要基石。

  现在看来,自信的日本人想象中的收购前景简单且草率:哥伦比亚丰富的电影和电视节目资源可以给索尼的“迷你电视”提供内容,形成优势互补,有效分散“硬件”产品的风险,发挥“软硬件”结合的综合效应,将日本无可争议的消费电子技术优势嫁接到美国“娱乐软件”。

  这种互补和契合似乎预示着业界将出现一次完美的收购,但接下来的经营状况却大大超出索尼的预想:索尼采取的信条是“如果我们将收购的公司保持美国特色,一切事情都会井井有条”,所以索尼基本上让美国的管理人员沿用原来的管理模式,自己却对经营业务不愿意或根本无法插手决策。这样的经营状况到1994年时已经导致索尼背负27亿美元的亏损。

  无独有偶,在互联网甚嚣尘上的年代,“美国在线”(AOL)眼瞅着时代华纳公司丰富的线下内容,以为加上传统的娱乐基础定能打造出世界首屈一指的网络与现实结合的内容联合体,既能吸引年轻的网络消费者,又能维持老用户,由此产生具有最大消费群体的娱乐公司。因此,2000年,AOL以创纪录的1062亿美元收购了如日中天的时代华纳。

  事实证明,时代华纳和AOL结合的冲动不能持久。在经历互联网大萧条之后,两者用天文数字的美元打造出来的超级结合轰然倒塌,曾经捆绑在一起的两兄弟选择了各奔前程。

  TCL再添悔意

  索尼和时代华纳的教训并没有因为出井伸之的成功扭亏而就此消失,它已真切地在TCL身上得到具体体现,并让后者初尝并购的艰辛和苦涩。事实上,TCL与阿尔卡特组合的新公司(T&&A),正在遭受的困境与索尼曾经的遭遇非常类似:想当然地对前景报以乐观,未能充分估计到合并后的麻烦。

  2003年11月,当TCL公司宣布收购法国汤姆逊公司的电视机和DVD机生产部门时,分析师和投资者纷纷称赞这是中国公司在全球崛起的一个里程碑。TCL没有收手,2004年底,TCL移动在和阿尔卡特宣布合并相关业务的公告中也宣称,合资公司拥有市场互补、强大的品牌力量、制造上的协同效应、更加丰富的产品线、世界领先的共同的联合研发实力等并购优势。

  把欧洲的技术和营销知识同中国低成本的制造业结合起来,创造全世界最大的电视机生产商,这听起来似乎非常理想。但是,这种想象还没有来得及一一验证,就被并购带来的巨大亏损所淹没。业界最新看到的是,曾经在中国市场上迅速崛起的TCL移动以极快的速度滑落,今年一季度他们交出了一份亏损3.86亿港元的季报。香港中国光大研究的分析师珍妮弗·苏说:“以前,我们对这种并购相当乐观。”但是现在,她说:“他们错误地判断了对所收购的企业扭亏为盈的能力……我们大家都错了。”

  更要命的是,5月中旬,阿尔卡特公司宣布退出T&A,把全部摊子留给TCL。这使TCL的移动电话部门在国外面临无法预知的前景。日本野村国际有限公司的分析师说:“还不知道以后TCL能否保住欧洲的客户,他们根本不了解欧洲市场。”

  一些分析师认为,TCL收购其他公司的做法为中国公司的国际扩张提出了问题。香港的一位投资银行家认为,“为了掌控局势,TCL吞下了许多。也许太多了,在很短的时间内进行了太多的交易。”至于联想,他认为成功的可能性更大,因为他们留住了IBM的重要员工。

  值得注意的是,在并购仅有20%成功率的“魔咒”之外,亚洲企业收购欧美高科技公司鲜有成功案例,IT行业发生的亚洲公司对欧美企业的收购更是无一成功。此前的京东方收购现代液晶业务,以及控股冠捷科技、中芯国际收购摩托罗拉位于天津的芯片制造业务都是磕磕碰碰。既然“明知山有虎”,联想、海尔和TCL等中国顶尖企业却冒着巨大的风险知难而上,到底是为了什么?

相关报道: 海尔并购美国第三大家电巨头美泰

联想收购IBM全球PC业务

TCL阿尔卡特合资公司解体 整合难题引发离婚

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IT时代周刊封面报道:失败魔咒下的企业并购(2)

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http://www.sina.com.cn 2005年07月07日 11:08 IT时代周刊

  第二章:为了生存

  如果把中国企业的跨国并购视为“心血来潮”未免有失公允,毕竟选择通过并购进一步做大企业和走向国际化成为跨国公司这样一条道路,对中国企业来说是一种机会。

  单一市场的局限性

  中国市场在全球市场份额中占有越来越大的比例,跨国公司普遍提升了中国市场在全球布局中的战略地位。而随着跨国公司把更多的制造和部分研发业务放到中国,国内企业依靠廉价劳动力产生的成本优势日渐削弱,在核心技术、管理能力、资金实力、规模效益等方面的劣势却日益明显。在此情形下,中国企业如果仅仅局限在国内,单一市场不足以支撑他们进一步长大,也难以进一步抗衡跨国企业。

  并购IBM之前,联想在国内市场占有近30%的市场份额,但他们在国际市场的销售额几乎可以忽略不计。因此,在解析联想为何收购IBM PC事业时,柳传志不免感叹:“不冒险怎么办,窝在中国这个地方也是不行的,不突破慢慢就只有萎缩。”

  柳传志的观点与TCL董事长李东生的观点有异曲同工之处,后者也曾在公开场合指出,“我知道国际化风险很大,当投资顾问告诉我国际上并购案的成功率不高,我好多天都睡不着觉。但理智告诉我,国际化的风险固然大,不抓机遇走国际化之路的风险更大。”

  业界分析人士认为这体现了李柳二人的精明之处,这也向业界清楚地指出,单纯的中国市场已无法包容中国企业进入世界500强的“雄心”,这也意味着,生存和发展两方面的压力,都要求中国企业必须走出去。而之所以如此,日本和韩国的经验都证明这是正确的,而索尼、三星等日韩企业的成功也让中国企业有了圆梦的信心。

  日韩经验

  分析日本、韩国企业的发家史,我们可以发现它们的生存背景和中国同行有很大的不同。

  日本、韩国均以外向型经济为主导起家,伴随着国家经济起飞,前者产生了以索尼、松下、东芝、夏普、富士通和佳能等一大批具有国际竞争力的跨国公司,韩国也产生了三星、LG和现代为代表的卓越企业。

  由于经济起飞阶段国内市场的规模较小,日、韩企业往往在发展到一定规模之后就开始到国际市场经受风吹雨打,逐步积累在国际市场上的经验和能力。60岁的三星电子(中国)前任会长李亨道就认为,“三星向海外发展有一种必然性。可以说,韩国企业的命运就是这样。”

  韩国国内市场规模太小,人口不足4800万,所以三星电子产品有80%以上都是外销的,走向海外是一种原始生存、扩张的需要。

  同时,日韩两国企业走的都是技术引进之后,在消化吸收的基础上求自我发展的路子,他们是在基础技术之上自我开发产品技术,逐渐形成了企业自我的研发力量和研发体系,虽然它们的基础技术创新和欧美企业整体还有一定差距,但在产品技术的开发能力上足以形成相当优势,甚至略有胜出。

  日本企业的典型意义更具对比性。录像机、游戏机、显像管、随身听等数码电子产品的基础技术都不由日本率先发明,但却最早由日本企业转化为实用产品,索尼开发的“随身听”风靡全球已成全球企业界的一段佳话。与索尼相比,三星的国际化经历也很有典型意义。

  三星在1997年亚洲金融危机之后的迅速崛起,很容易认为是三星在数字技术上押对了宝,其实韩国人能做到这一点,是来自于此前10多年在技术上的不懈投入和坚持。

  早在1990年,三星株式会社李健熙会长到美国出差,在商店里发现三星的产品外观不好,摆在很角落的位置而且落满了灰尘,而索尼的产品摆放的位置特别显眼,卖的价钱特别高。李健熙还发现三星的电器看起来特别大,零部件特别多,这就意味着成本高。但售价反而低20%左右。“人们想起这些产品,就觉得是二流的,没有人觉得是世界一流的。”李健熙产生了强烈的危机意识。

  1993年,三星电子开始了“二次创业”。其核心是在以三星电子为主导,将集团变为一家知识密集型公司。首当其冲的便是在半导体业获得一席之地。

  三星在技术上的投入可以向前追溯到上个世纪70年代,当时三星确定的向海外、向国际化方向发展的基调就是以技术跻身国际市场和“一等”主义(在所涉足领域都做到第一),并且选择了以存储半导体作为突破方向。三星预见到了今后这种行业成长的可能性,很果断地做了决定:一定要发展存储半导体。

  为保持领先优势,三星要求自己在半导体产品的研发方面持续领先日本企业3-6个月。坚持了4年后,这一时间差被拉大到1年,日企在该领域彻底丧失反抗力。就半导体而言,三星硅晶片从200毫米发展到了300毫米,减少了1/3成本,能够用在更多的微芯片上;液晶显示器方面,三星和索尼建立了合资公司,创建了业界第一个所谓的“第7代产品线”。

  正是之前的一系列变革,三星在经济危机面前赢得了喘息余地。

  为什么要“走出去”

  或许西方分析人士的观点比较中肯。他们普遍认为,索尼、三星等日韩企业由于在国内遭遇实力强劲的竞争对手而进军海外市场。不过,他们的全球化攻势是以超乎寻常的优质产品和生产技术作为基础;而中国企业则并不具有此类优势,相反,它的动机在很大程度上是出于自卫——为了生存。

  看看中国企业的成长史,由于有相对广大的国内市场支撑,他们走出去的必要性和意愿并非源自骨子里。商务部国际经济研究院有分析性文章指出,日、韩企业因为国内市场狭小,早早地锻炼出了国际化市场的经营能力,而中国企业则由于庞大的本土市场,削弱了国际化的意愿和能力。

  施振荣曾非常羡慕中国的企业家有一个庞大的市场后院,可以在企业规模发展起来之后再走出去。施振荣只看到了硬币的“正面”,而“反面”带来的消极效应被一种盲目的乐观所掩盖。

  李东生就曾坦言:“TCL的大部分人都是国内市场打拼出来的,但在国际市场的操作上,无论是对当地市场的熟悉还是有关法律法规方面的运作,我们还有很大差距。”而联想从开始的“技工贸”摆向“贸工技”,等到贸易驱动的路越走越窄之后,又想从“贸工技”摆回“技工贸”。联想的反复表明中国企业对建立自我竞争力问题的迷失。

  第三章:中国公司是否为并购支付太多

  购买不是创造——这种战略并非新生事物:许多西方公司也采取同样的做法。问题的关键在于中国公司是否支付得太多。

  点了中国企业的死穴

  有些时候,药看起来是对症的良药,却不一定能药到病除,这是因为医生并没有“把”清病根;而索尼、AOL和TCL的失败并购,也正是因为公司的当家人没有看清楚并购后的真实效果。

  遗憾的是,很多企业家只注意到了企业自我发展的不易,却忽视了并购式拓展只是从一个难题转换到了另外一个难题的事实,就像千斤重担从一个肩上换到了另外一个肩上,同样考验中国企业的实力和智慧。而且因为收购是一种大投入、大运作的经营方式,风险更加集聚,稍有不慎,就可能导致企业多年的积累毁于一旦。

  并购研究专家从大量的企业并购案例中发现一条重要的规律:收购是否成功主要是看收购方能够给被收购企业带来什么,而不是从被收购企业获得什么。正是这条规律点中了中国企业的死穴。

  联想并购IBM的 PC业务之后,把企业总部移到了美国,CEO也换成了原IBM主管电脑业务的副总裁沃德,高层团队中来自原IBM的人员占据了近一半的数量和关键的职位,这固然有利于稳定原IBM 的员工和客户,但也有人难过地反问:如果一切都是IBM原来的样子,那么本来亏损的IBM PC业务又凭什么扭转?

  TCL和阿尔卡特的组合也是如此。两家公司在组成合资企业之后,仅仅是增加了数百人的研发和销售团队,人员开销和管理费用成倍翻番,这成为导致合资的T&&A业务亏损上升的直接诱因。

  与此同时,在近期炒得沸沸扬扬的中海油收购优尼科公司事件中,中海油的报价比竞争对手雪佛龙公司多出近20亿美元,雪佛龙坦言收购后将裁员以压缩成本,而中海油却慷慨承诺不影响美国本土员工的就业。因此,有观点指出这些优惠条件是否值得,将来是否会成为中海油难甩的包袱。

  不管怎样,所有的事实都反映了一个本质原因,那就是作为收购方的中国企业无法给并购后的新企业带来能够产生竞争力的“中国因素”。而事实上,这些失败的企业并不是被中国企业打败,而是受挫于第3方企业,比如阿尔卡特、西门子是败在诺基亚、摩托罗拉、三星的手下。IBM败在康柏、戴尔的手下,在此前提下,中国企业不敢以胜利者的姿态去接收,为此,他们必须接受被并购企业提出的要求:人员不能裁,工资不能减,管理制度不能改,整体的管理甚至还要受被并购方所控制。

  根据美国著名跨国企业研究学者帕穆特的观点:跨国企业起步时属于“种族优越主义”阶段,即企业赴海外活动,主要目的在于谋求母公司的利益,由公司所在国发号施令,指挥在外国文化下的分支机构如何行事。显然,中国的情形与之恰恰相反。

  仔细探因,有学者发现这正是中国企业并购国际化效果不明显的主要原因,也是导致索尼并购哥伦比亚电影公司前期亏损的内因。盛田昭夫把这种“不公平”归因为亚洲企业在面对西方同行时总有一种“自卑感”。具体到中国企业而言,他们基于廉价劳动力的成本优势一旦离开中国市场的大环境就会失效,不具有在世界范围内推广的价值。

  有一种“自卑”

  尽管并购可能需要大量的后续投入来填补亏损的窟窿,但中国企业显然还没有做好承受收购之后长时间亏损的准备。反观索尼,该公司并购哥伦比亚公司之后是在长达数年高达数十亿美元的亏损之后才等来赢利的曙光,但当年的索尼已经有近200亿美元的高赢利业务,几年不赢利也能够承受得起,而中国企业自身尚且羸弱的身躯和勉为其难的赢利显然无法忍受比自身还要大的收购业务的持续失血。

  对比类似的台湾明基公司收购西门子的手机业务,也可以看出内地企业在国际并购谈判的能力还有待提高,明基收购了西门子经营状况不佳的手机业务,西门子提供约2.5亿欧元的现金与服务,做为对未来手机相关核心专利的开发、营销业务的拓展及共同品牌的推广,同时西门子还以5000万欧元购入明基2.5%的股权,而明基还可享有西门子手机的所有专利权。与此相比,当TCL收购汤姆逊的电视业务时,却没有得到利润最高的显像管制造这一块。在对大陆、台湾公司进行比较时,英国《金融时报》认为:台湾公司就好比坐在了驾驶员座位上,而大陆公司只不过搭个便车而已。

  而另在某些人看来,中国企业在并购时表现酷似在接手一件易碎的瓷器。由于受到当地劳工制度的制约,中国企业无法剥离没有价值的部分而降低成本,也无法把一些本来应该转移回中国、利用廉价劳动力产生竞争优势的部分转移出来,同时因为没有管理经验,不知道如何改进提高运营效率,乱改一气就可能导致彻底破裂。所以也碰不得,只能小心呵护和看管,把希望寄托在被并购方的自我完善上,但是它汩汩流出的又是中国企业辛苦赚的利润,所以又等不得。这种矛盾导致通过并购实现跨国公司的梦想同样是一条布满荆棘的险途。

  尽管中国经济实现了持续高速发展,但国外舆论并不认可中国企业的管理能力,英国《金融时报》更是认为:TCL和联想此类公司崛起的主要原因是大陆市场低购买力和低效率,他们生产的电子产品非常便宜,因为目前大多数中国人还买不起质优价高的外国产品,而且本地优势也使他们在尚不透明的销售系统中占尽先机。但随着大陆市场自由化发展,消费者越来越富有,大陆公司的传统优势就会消失,利润逐渐减少。由于它们的利润率很低,像TCL和联想这样的公司没有足够的资金用于产品开发,不能像日本和韩国公司那样将研发能力转变为永久竞争优势。

  随着大陆市场自由化发展,消费者越来越富有,大陆公司的传统优势就会消失,利润逐渐减少。由于它们的利润率很低,象TCL和联想这样的公司没有足够的资金用于产品开发,不能象日本和韩国公司那样将研发能力转变为永久竞争优势。

  英国人的话说得虽然有点极端,但也点出了中国企业的内在缺陷。即使是走并购之路,也同样要求企业具有一定的体质,否则不仅“欲速则不达”,反而可能加速企业的覆灭。

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IT时代周刊封面报道:失败魔咒下的企业并购(3)

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http://www.sina.com.cn 2005年07月07日 11:08 IT时代周刊

  第四章:中国企业需“进补”

  都是在发展中的外向型经济体中孕育出来的企业,都是随着国家经济的起飞而发展壮大,也都是深受儒家文化影响的东亚国家,相对于欧美大型跨国公司的成功模式,日韩企业的成功确实对中国企业有更大的借鉴意义,更何况中国企业有13亿人口的潜在市场的独特优势,日韩企业能够做到的,中国企业似乎没有理由做不到。

  要知国际化的“所以然”

  上世纪末期,无数的中国企业提出了要做“中国的索尼”或者“中国的松下”。三星在新世纪通过在数字技术上的突破实现爆发式增长后,又有不止一个中国企业要做“中国的三星”。联想开始向惠普学习,向IBM学习,但通过押注奥运TOP计划,则可以看出联想明显受三星奥运战略的影响。

  确实,由于社会制度、文化历史机遇等条件上的差异,欧美企业的成功模式对中国企业来说很难得到模仿或者借鉴。其实,即使同属于PC制造,戴尔成功的很多因素也是联想所不具备的,比如成熟的大市场观、强大的金融市场和发达的经理人市场等因素,所以更好地研究索尼、三星等日韩企业的发展模式对中国企业意义更大。

  但如果只是看到了和日韩企业相比,中国企业在核心技术上的缺失并因此导致在海外市场的受阻,则显然只是触及了问题的表面,是知其然而不知其所以然。

  所以,三星在新世纪的爆发式增长,固然有押宝的因素,但更重要的是此前数十年在技术和人才积累上的优势喷薄而出所形成的自然结果。索尼产品真正征服世界的决不是因为“SONY”这个国际化的名字,而是索尼在品牌定位的背后所开发的一系列世界首创的激动人心的创新产品。

  这就意味着,换标、品牌定位、广告宣传,固然是一个品牌和企业走向世界做大做强的必要步骤,但是如果仅仅止于这些工作,也只是徒有其表,失去了创新产品支撑的创新品牌就只能名不副实,而不竭的创新产品又来自于持续的技术投入和企业创新精神。

  要补该补的课

  表面看,国际并购正好可以根除中国企业的病根,以联想并购IBM PC业务来看,后者作为PC的鼻祖,在该领域(特别是笔记本制造技术上)拥有大量的专利、技术以及研发力量,正好可以弥补联想在技术开发上的不足。然而,这同样不能保证联想在技术上能够保证长期领先。

  中国企业普遍走的是引进技术或者引进设备组装生产的路子,依靠的是灵活多样的销售策略和对非理性的国内市场特点的准确把握,技术开发的投入很少,普遍缺少核心技术积累。

  因为盈利基数偏低,这不足以支撑庞大的研发费用,而因为产品研发的短缺,无法形成产品竞争力,开拓国际市场的力度就比较小,难度则大。这是中国企业捉肘见襟的“难言之隐”。

  他们中的大多数是在技术引进——落后——再引进的怪圈中循环而得不到提升,最后导致企业规模一边在做大,一边却始终无法摆脱核心技术受制于人的命运。

  依靠引进技术的发展路线带来的主要问题是产品同质化现象严重,因此引发的价格战使一些企业在规模上做得很大,赢利水平却不高。典型事例如中国的DVD、PC 和彩电产业,大部分利润也转移到了掌握技术、核心部件、标准的跨国公司手里,中国企业赚取的只是一点可怜的加工费。经验显示,坚持走技术和发展路线的企业不是被淘汰出局就是在苟延残喘。

  最新的WTO统计数据显示,中国彩电企业的生产量约占世界彩电总产量的一半,但当该产业从普通彩电向高清平板化升级时,因为液晶技术和等离子显示技术的核心部分分别掌握在夏普和富士通手上,国内彩电企业却因无能为力而不得不掀起新一轮的引进浪潮。

  尽管戴尔在国际市场上是个公认的“没有技术”的公司,研发费用比例非常低,但由于其销售规模巨大,他们每年用在研发上的开销仍然高达5亿美元,而这已经接近原联想全部销售额的1/6。

  对比于索尼、三星等日韩企业在核心技术投入上的坚持,中国企业多了一份追逐眼前利益的灵活,却少了一种坚持不懈的精神,在四处碰壁后才发现,有一些事情如培育核心技术、核心能力是无法省略的,我们以为可以绕过去,最后却发现必须回头重新补课。

  对这一课,并购可以作为一种手段,但不能从根本上解决问题。因为一直有难题摆在中国企业面前。

  在国外自建渠道发展自主品牌要面临各种困难和不测风险。欧美市场是高度结构化的理性市场,已有的渠道资源已被分割殆尽,开辟新的渠道则是投入大、回报小、周期长,甚至可能血本无归。以做代工起家的台湾宏 电脑公司在1990年代曾以自有品牌开拓欧美市场,在投入数亿美元不见成效之后不得不无奈退出;联想也曾经雄心勃勃的要以自有品牌走向国际市场,但在柳传志向宏 董事长施振荣请教如何进行国际化的问题后,柳打消了先前的念头;海尔从1998年开始进军国际化,坚持“先难后易”的发展路径,以自有品牌进攻欧美市场,为了避开贸易壁垒不惜逆国际潮流把冰箱制造放到劳工等各种费用都数倍于国内的美国,但几年下来也是雷声大,雨点小。

  事实上,中国企业还有多元化发展的路可走,但IT因素却又在无形中制约着他们,三大企业无一不在尝试中身撞“南墙”。

  联想、TCL都曾希望以多元化的方式来取得进一步的增长,但多年的尝试以失败告终;海尔尽管号称是中国多元化比较成功的企业,但从冰箱市场出发,也仅仅成功的扩张到洗衣机、空调等临近的白电市场,进一步向小家电、电脑、电视等业务领域发展就遇到了麻烦。

  强身健体是关键

  俗话说“贫贱家庭百事哀”,对于中国企业来说,留在国内就会慢慢“憋死”,走自我发展国际市场的道路困难重重,通过并购实现国际化又荆棘密布,难道它们就只能听天由命任人宰割吗?

  真实情况远不需要中国企业如此悲观,生长于一个有着13亿消费人群的高速发展的庞大市场内,是中国企业的幸运。中国市场的庞大规模和多样生态,即使在中国加入WTO,跨国公司大举进入之后,仍然为中国企业留出了巨大的战略回旋空间,联想电脑向5、6级市场的拓展就是一个例证。清华大学经济管理学院李稻葵教授就指出:中国具有大国经济的实力,中国企业完全没必要、也不可能走日、韩企业的道路。把2亿农民动员起来去搞加工生产,承担不了中国经济腾飞的重任,世界经济也受不了。李稻葵教授有一句名言是“中国生产什么,什么就不值钱,中国进口什么,什么就涨价”,依靠承接世界制造业的转移实现经济增长的发展模式已经开始显示出负面效应。

  走出一条中国企业独特的发展道路,需要中国企业家在没有路标上的发展路途上的“雄才大略”,但首先需要对以前的企业发展模式进行一系列的反思:为什么“市场换技术”换不来技术?为什么企业规模在高速发展,企业的竞争优势却没有获得相应的提升?

  和日、韩已经实现跨国经营的先进企业对比,中国企业存在这样那样的不足,但本质上说,中国企业更是缺少了一种精神,一种真正的依靠创新提升企业价值的企业家精神,尽管不断有企业以“民族企业”的旗手自居,却除了低级的价格战之外,看不到技术上的进步,看不到经营上的创新,看不到真正为消费者着想的真诚与谦卑。

  技术可以买来,但研发能力买不来;管理可以引进,但核心竞争力无法引进;人才可以吸引,但理念无法形成。北大光华管理学院张维迎教授把核心竞争力形象地比喻为:“偷不走、买不来、拆不开、带不走、溜不掉”,无论有着多么高明的手段,无论有着多么好的机遇,无论利用什么样的外部资源,在竞争的市场环境中建立起企业自身独特的核心竞争力这一关都无法取巧,需要企业静下心来,戒除浮躁,强身健体,才是真正的强企之路。

  中国市场有现成的和跨国公司过招实现强身健体的环境,中国企业应该从依赖“主场之利”转变到依靠企业自身的经营能力来建立市场地位,幼稚产业应该保护,但长期依靠保护无法断奶的企业则永远不会成熟,更惶论在国际市场上争长论短。

  鲁迅先生说:倘若以欺瞒的心,用欺瞒的嘴,则无论说A和B,还是X和Y,都是一样的。套用鲁迅先生的逻辑,我们也可以说:倘若企业自身没有强健的体魄,又要走国际化,则无论是通过自我发展,还是通过并购,都一样是一条充满风险的道路。

相关报道: 海尔并购美国第三大家电巨头美泰

联想收购IBM全球PC业务

TCL阿尔卡特合资公司解体 整合难题引发离婚

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海外并购 中国准备好了吗

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http://www.sina.com.cn 2005年07月04日10:34 法制早报

  □本报记者白涛

  面对中国企业国外并购热潮,国际国内有各种各样的评论,提出了许多问题。为此,《法制早报》记者专访了北京大学国际关系学院从事经济外交策略的张学斌研究员。

  记者:中国企业是否有必要并购国外企业?


  张学斌:世界经济已从商品国际化、资本国际化而进入到生产国际化阶段,并正在向整个经济生活的国际化发展,国家间的相互依赖越来越强,任何一个国家,只要不是闭关自守,不论该国经济发展程度如何,资源和资金的丰裕与否,技术水平是否领先,都在一定程度上依赖别国来发展自己的经济。当前,世界各国正在开展一场规模宏大的竞争,其核心问题之一就是如何利用世界资源为本国经济发展服务。今后还要有更多的中国企业走出国门,通过并购国外企业的方式开展国际经济合作。

  记者:并购海外企业浪潮是如何形成的?

  张学斌:最早的案例是1992年,首钢集团斥资1.18亿美元收购了秘鲁铁矿公司,成为并购外国公司的第一家企业。但直到最近几年,中国企业海外并购才形成新一轮浪潮。这次外投资浪潮以做实业的企业出去投资为主,投资形式主要有:资源导向型,投资的目的是为了开采外部匀蛔试矗隳诓啃枰皇谐〉枷蛐停吩诘钡叵郏毯屠┐笫谐》荻?;效率导向型,利用廉价的劳动力和一些政策优惠,降低成本,产品向更大的市场投放;技术导向型,通过投资获得先进的生产技术和产品品牌。

  企业在激烈竞争中必须最合理地利用世界资源,最大程度利用规模效应降低成本,最迅速地适应市场的变化,对外投资并购海外企业是一条重要途径。

  同时,国际社会也具备了较好的环境。中国经济的快速发展,使得国际企业看好中国概念,被中国企业控股或是收购,对相关企业来说是一件好事,因为可以分享中国的低成本和大市场。

  记者:收购外企有哪几种途径?

  张学斌:收购东道国现有企业有三种途径:第一是直接从证券市场购买股票,获得企业的股权,成为企业的重要股东;第二是在国外企业增资时,投资者以适当的价格取得企业增发的股权证券,成为企业的重要股东;第三是投资者通过与企业直接谈判购买条件获得企业的所有权。

  记者:为什么说国际直接投资是一种非常必要的渠道?

  张学斌:国际直接投资是指一国的投资者将资本用于他国的生产或经营,并掌握一定经营控制权的投资行为。国际直接投资有两种基本方式,一是本国投资者到国外投资,创立新的企业。这类企业可以是独资企业,也可以是合资企业,这类投资也被称为绿地投资;二是收购东道国已有企业,这是本国投资者通过一定的程序和渠道取得外国现有企业全部或部分所有权的投资行为。

  收购东道国现有企业比绿地投资有更大的优越性。收购现有企业的最大长处在于,可以最快的速度进入该行业,能得到被收购企业的技术和技术人员、客户和公司的管理方式,利用有影响力的国际品牌占领市场。



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