2021年经济学人 非洲的投资（1）

Finance & economics

财经板块

Investment in Africa

非洲的投资

Links in the chain

链条上的环节

Why linkages¹ between foreign and local firms are all too rare

为何外国公司和本地公司之间罕有联系

In 2016 daniel kinuthia started a small business in Kenya making shoe uppers for the local subsidiary of Bata, a multinational² footwear company.

2016年，丹尼尔·金努西亚在肯尼亚开办了一家小公司，为跨国制鞋公司Bata在当地的子公司生产鞋帮子。

He was short of finance and equipment, and his contract with Bata ended when covid-19 hit.

由于缺乏资金和设备，他与Bata的合同在新冠爆发时便终止了。

But he says supplying Bata and visiting its factory taught him "what happens, how the shoe is marketed, the kind of shoe that can be sold".

但他表示为Bata供货和参观其工厂让他了解到“发生了什么，鞋是如何营销的，以及可进行销售的那种鞋”。

Now he dreams of using those skills to build a factory of his own.

现在他梦想着能够利用这些技能建立自己的工厂。

Many African governments are keen to attract foreign investment. But its impact hinges on what Albert Hirschman, a postwar economist³, called "linkages".

许多非洲国家政府渴望吸引外国投资，但其影响取决于战后经济学家艾伯特·赫希曼所说的“联系”。

By supplying or buying from multinationals⁴, local firms like Mr Kinuthia's can learn about markets and technology. Such linkages are all too rare in Africa, however.

通过向跨国公司供货或采购，像金努西亚这样的本地客户可以了解市场和技术。然而，这种联系在非洲太罕见了。

Many multinationals ship in their inputs⁵ and export what they produce. That brings jobs and dollars, but does not spur development.

许多跨国公司将他们的投入运输出去，并出口他们生产的产品。这带来了工作机会和金钱，但没有刺激发展。

A recent study by John Rand of the University of Copenhagen and others finds that linkages are scarcer in Africa than in developing Asia.

由哥本哈根大学的约翰·兰德和其他一些人最近所做的一项研究发现，非洲的这种联系与发展中的亚洲相比更为稀少。

The multinationals they surveyed in Kenya imported two-thirds of their intermediate inputs, for instance, whereas those in Vietnam imported just a quarter.

例如，他们在肯尼亚调查的跨国公司有三分之二的中间原料来自进口，而越南的跨国公司只有四分之一。

And local linkages transferred less technology than expected. Firms learned as much by trading across oceans as they did from foreign firms in their backyard.

而且地方联系转移的技术也比预期的要少。公司从海外贸易中学到的东西和他们从自家后院的外国公司中学到的一样多。

Extractive industries in particular tend to operate as enclaves.

采掘业尤其倾向于像飞地一样运作。

Mining concessions⁶ often come with import-duty waivers, says Lukas Bekker, a supply-chain expert who has helped set up mines in three African countries.

曾帮助在三个非洲国家建立矿山的供应链专家卢卡斯·贝克表示，采矿特许权通常与进口关税豁免同时存在。

That makes it cheaper to import equipment than to use local contractors⁷. And buying local can be risky⁸.

这使得进口设备比使用本地承包商更便宜。购买本地产品也有风险。

A finance manager with 20 years' experience in African mining says he prefers to keep procurement⁹ offshore¹⁰, having uncovered "frauds and kickbacks¹¹" between staff and local suppliers in the past.

一位在非洲采矿业拥有20年经验的财务经理表示，他更喜欢把采购工作放在海外，因为他曾发现员工与当地供应商之间存在“欺诈和回扣”。

Capacity takes time to build. In Uganda, which has long been preparing to pump oil, a survey in 2012 found that only 200 trucks in a local fleet of 2,500 were up to scratch.

能力的培养需要时间。乌干达已经为开采石油准备了很长时间，2012年的一项调查发现当地2500辆卡车中只有200辆达到了标准。

"We had to transform our business," says Jeff Baitwa, who spent $20m buying equipment to upgrade his haulage company for oil contracts. Sometimes the technical gap is too wide.

杰夫·拜特瓦表示：“我们必须进行业务转型。”为了签订石油合同，拜特瓦花了2000万美元购买设备来升级他的运输公司。有时技术差距太大。

"I'm told the pipeline¹² has what they call 'seamless pipes'," says Stuart Mwesigwa, a manager at Uganda's largest steel company. "No one in east Africa is manufacturing that!"

“我听说这条管道有所谓的‘无缝管道’，乌干达最大的钢铁公司的经理Stuart Mwesigwa说。“东非没有人制造那种东西！”

1 linkages   

n.连接( linkage的名词复数 )；结合；联系；联动装置

参考例句：

• Only the thermosetting resins provide a strong cohesive forces; this is due to molecular cross linkages. 只有热固性树脂具有巨大的凝聚力，这是由于分子交错链所造成的。 来自辞典例句
• The linkages between the stable units must be as near as possible of equal stability. 稳定链节之间的键必须有尽可能接近的稳定性。 来自辞典例句

2 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

3 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

4 multinationals   

跨国公司( multinational的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These local companies are only small fry compared with the huge multinationals. 同那些跨国公司比，这些当地的公司不过是小鱼小虾。
• Some people believe that the multinationals have too much power. 有人认为跨国公司的权力太大了。

5 inputs   

n.输入( input的名词复数 )；投入；输入端；输入的数据v.把…输入电脑( input的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Uncheck the inputs checked for optimization in the previous stage. 不测试那些已经测试过的优化了的以前步骤的inputs.（变量参数）。 来自互联网
• Just in case, save in a file the inputs obtained at the previous stage. 以防万一，保存以前步骤获得的inputs（变量参数值）到一个文件中去。 来自互联网

6 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

7 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

9 procurement   

n.采购；获得

参考例句：

• He is in charge of the procurement of materials.他负责物资的采购。
• More and more,human food procurement came to have a dominant effect on their evolution.人类获取食物愈来愈显著地影响到人类的进化。

10 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

11 kickbacks   

n.激烈反应( kickback的名词复数 )；佣金，回扣

参考例句：

• Everyone at City Hall is receiving kickbacks. It's the only way to get anything done there. 市政府里的每个人都收回扣，在那里只有送红包，事情才办得成。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• G raft or kickbacks paid to officials or law enforcem ent authorities. 暗中付给官员或执法人员的回扣。 来自互联网

12 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。