2020年经济学人 马云被约谈,蚂蚁暂缓上市(2)

On November 2nd the Chinese central bank and banking¹ regulator published new draft rules for online micro-lending, which looked almost perfectly² tailored to undercut Ant. Online lenders will need to fund at least 30% of any loan they supply jointly³ with banks. That could force Ant to keep much more of the credit that it originates on its books; currently, 98% is held as assets by other firms, off Ant's balance-sheet. Additional disclosure requirements could also make it much more cumbersome⁴ for banks to partner with the group. Officials at China's banking regulator have already pressed commercial lenders to adhere to the new rules, according to Bloomberg, in effect making many of Ant's transactions non-compliant.

11月2日，中国央行和银行监管机构发布了网上小额贷款的新规则草案，看起来几乎是为打击蚂蚁金服而量身定做的。在线贷款机构与银行共同提供的贷款中，至少有30%需要融资，这可能迫使蚂蚁保留更多源自其账簿的信贷。目前，其中98%被其他公司作为资产持有，不在蚂蚁金服的资产负债表内。额外的信息披露要求也可能使银行与该集团的合作变得更加麻烦。据彭博社报道，中国银行业监管机构的官员已经向商业银行施压，要求它们遵守新规定，这实际上使得蚂蚁金服的许多交易有悖规定。

Depending on how the rules are implemented—they will not be finalised until December—Ant's capital-light model could end up looking much less sleek⁵. "It will be valued more like a financial firm than a tech firm," said a strategist with an Asian sovereign-wealth fund. Given Ant's track record, it seems a fair bet that it will quickly adapt to the new rules, but its credit operations are likely to face much slower growth and lower profitability.

取决于这些规则如何实施——它们要到12月才会最终敲定——蚂蚁金服的“轻资本”模式可能会看起来不那么光鲜。一家亚洲主权财富基金的策略师表示：“它的估值将更像是一家金融公司而不是科技公司。”鉴于蚂蚁金服的过往记录，它似乎会迅速适应新规则，但其信贷业务可能面临增长放缓和盈利能力下降。

Investors⁶ had previously⁷ given Ant a forward price-to-earnings multiple of 40, in line with big global payments companies. Most Chinese banks, in contrast, trade on multiples of less than ten. Ant had been on track for a Market capitalisation north of $300bn, higher than any bank in the world. Now it is likely to fall well short of that. Shares in Alibaba, a Chinese e-commerce giant that owns a third of Ant, tumbled by 8% after the suspension of the listing was announced.

投资者此前给蚂蚁金服的预期市盈率为40倍，与大型全球支付公司相仿。相比之下，多数中国银行的市盈率不到10倍。此前，蚂蚁金服的市值有望突破3000亿美元，高于世界上任何一家银行。现在，它很有可能离这个目标渐行渐远。拥有蚂蚁三分之一股份的中国电子商务巨头阿里巴巴，在暂缓上市的消息公布后股价下跌了8%。

Some investors may at least be grateful to regulators for introducing the new rules before the IPO, however late in the process, allowing them to reprice Ant before they buy its shares. But it is not as if the IPO came as a surprise or the company was an unknown entity⁸; regulators could have acted far earlier. The possibility that they were motivated by a grudge⁹ against Mr Ma, and perhaps irritated by his recent speech, cannot be ruled out.

一些投资者可能至少会感谢监管机构在IPO之前就出台了新规定，这允许他们在购买蚂蚁金服股票之前对其重新定价。但这次IPO并不出人意料，也不是什么未知的实体。监管机构本可以在很久前采取行动，不排除他们是出于对马的怨恨，亦或是被他最近的演讲激怒的可能。

Ant had gone to great lengths to brand itself as a tech firm, not a bank. It describes its business as "techfin"—ie, putting technology first—not fintech. In the lead-up to its listing, it asked brokerages to assign tech analysts¹⁰, not just banking analysts, to cover it. Ultimately, though, its focus has always been on China's financial sector¹¹. That is the industry ripe for disruption, and where the money is. But as Ant and legions of investors have been reminded, that is also where the regulators lurk¹².

蚂蚁金服费尽心思把自己打造成一家科技公司，而不是一家银行。它将自己的业务描述为“科技金融”——即把科技放在首位——而不是“金融科技”。在上市前，该公司曾要求券商指派科技分析师、而不仅仅是银行业分析师来对它进行报道。不过，归根结底，它的重点一直都在中国的金融领域。这就是颠覆这个行业的时机，也是赚钱的地方。但正如蚂蚁金服和大批投资者被提醒的那样，这也是监管机构潜伏的地方。

1 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

2 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

3 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

4 cumbersome   

adj.笨重的，不便携带的

参考例句：

• Although the machine looks cumbersome,it is actually easy to use.尽管这台机器看上去很笨重，操作起来却很容易。
• The furniture is too cumbersome to move.家具太笨，搬起来很不方便。

5 sleek   

adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢

参考例句：

• Women preferred sleek,shiny hair with little decoration.女士们更喜欢略加修饰的光滑闪亮型秀发。
• The horse's coat was sleek and glossy.这匹马全身润泽有光。

6 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

7 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

8 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

9 grudge   

n.不满，怨恨，妒嫉；vt.勉强给，不情愿做

参考例句：

• I grudge paying so much for such inferior goods.我不愿花这么多钱买次品。
• I do not grudge him his success.我不嫉妒他的成功。

10 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

11 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

12 lurk   

n.潜伏，潜行；v.潜藏，潜伏，埋伏

参考例句：

• Dangers lurk in the path of wilderness.在这条荒野的小路上隐伏着危险。
• He thought he saw someone lurking above the chamber during the address.他觉得自己看见有人在演讲时潜藏在会议厅顶上。