经济学人159:印度公司在海外

 　　Buiness

　　商业

　　Indian firms abroad

　　印度公司在海外

　　Under the radar¹

　　默默无闻

　　Godrej, an Indian conglomerate², goes global its own way

　　高德瑞治，一家印度大型联合企业，用其特有的方式走向全球

　　THE world is used to big Indian firms planting flags in foreign fields.

　　这个世界正在习惯于大型印度公司在异地安营扎寨。

　　Now the subcontinent's medium-sized firms are venturing abroad, too, and often proving quicker and nimbler than their peers in other emerging economies.

　　现在这个南亚次大陆的中型规模的公司也正在向外国市场进军，并且经常比其他新兴经济体国家的竞争对手显得更为快速与敏捷。

　　Take the Godrej Group, a family-controlled conglomerate based in Mumbai.

　　就如高德瑞治集团，一家在孟买建立的家族掌控的大型联合企业为例。

　　The firm began as a lockmaker in 1897.

　　这个公司在1897年是作为一家锁制造商起家的。

　　While the Indian economy was closed it could not expand abroad much, so it diversified³ wildly: into soap, typewriters, forklift trucks, animal feed and talcum powder.

　　因为当时印度经济很封闭，公司不能过多地在境外发展，因此公司经营范围扩展得非常广阔：肥皂、打印机、铲车、动物饲料、爽身粉都有涉及。

　　When India opened up in the 1990s, it had to become less jumbled⁴ and to shape up, says Adi Godrej, the chairman.

　　当印度在20世纪90年代经济对外开放的时候，高德瑞治必须减少混乱的营运方式并进行改进，就像安迪?高德瑞治主席所说：

　　We put our thinking caps on.

　　我们戴上了思想者的帽子。

　　After a false start experimenting with joint⁵ ventures with foreign firms, the group has settled on having clearly defined divisions,typically fully⁶ controlled.

　　继一次与外国公司错误的合资计划，该集团已经在有分歧的部分达成了一致，是典型的完全控制。

　　Together they have sales of $3.3 billion, with the largest being Godrej Consumer Products, a sort of mini-Unilever that cranks out soap, detergent⁷, hair products and weapons for waging war on creepy-crawlies.

　　将最大的高德瑞治消费产品，例如大量制造的肥皂、洗衣服、护发产品以及杀虫剂这种类似小型联合利华的产品，总共算下来公司有33亿美元的市值。这一部分已经在海外进行了短暂的尝试。

　　This unit has led the foray overseas, with deals in Nigeria, Indonesia, Argentina, Britain and South Africa since late 2005.

　　从2005年末算起，该公司就与尼日利亚、印度尼西亚、阿根廷、英国及南非有贸易往来。

　　It has spent about $1 billion, says Mr Godrej, and now makes about a third of its sales outside India.

　　高德瑞治先生说，现在已经花费了大概10亿美元，并且现在做成了在印度以外的大约三分之一的买卖。

　　In June it announced the acquisition of Darling Group, which sells hair extensions in 14 countries in Africa.

　　在六月份，公司宣布收购达令公司，这是一个在非洲14个国家销售头发相关产品的公司。

　　If a Western firm did this, it might be clobbered⁸ by fund managers for being too thinly spread.

　　如果一个西方公司这样做，他也许会因为太草率地扩张公司而被基金经理批评。

　　Indian investors⁹ have been more open-minded: Godrej Consumer's shares have more than tripled since the end of 2007, valuing the firm at $3.2 billion.

　　印度投资者思想已经变得开放起来：高德瑞治消费者的股份已经是2007年底的三倍多，公司市值32亿美元。

　　Mr Godrej says the key is to pick niche¹⁰ products with sizeable local market shares which pass under the radar of big global rivals.

　　高德瑞治先生认为关键就是在躲过大的全球对手监控下用相当大的当地市场份额来选择产品用户群。

　　Aware of its limited pool of managers and knowledge of new countries, Godrej grants the acquired firms autonomy.

　　了解到在新国家的管理者和知识领域的空缺，高德瑞治准予了获得公司的自主权。

　　Its financial disclosure is surprisingly poor, but the deals have all boosted earnings¹¹, it says, and more are likely.

　　该公司财务状况公开结果是异常不好的，但交易已经促进了收益，确实，并且很有可能就是这样的。

　　Godrej will eventually face a universal problem: how to marry ambition with family control.

　　高德瑞治最终将要面对一个普遍的问题：怎样将志向与家族控制结合在一起。

　　Two big holding companies sit above Godrej Consumer.

　　两家大型控股公司摆在高德瑞治消费者面前。

　　Such fiddly holding chains can cause problems if the family is unwilling¹² or unable to fund new investments or accept the alternative of losing control.

　　如果家族不愿意或者无能力去建立新的投资项目或者接受失去控制权的选择，这样繁琐的控股程序会引来麻烦。

　　Godrej may be different, though.

　　虽然高德瑞治也许不同。

　　The holding companies are not mere¹³ shells, but maintain profitable operations in their own right, have manageable debt and are sitting on a vast plot of land in Mumbai that could eventually be worth billions of dollars.

　　控股公司并不仅仅是一个空壳，但为了他们个人的利益维持有益的运转，拥有易控制的债务和孟买的一大片土地，这些最终都会价值数十亿美元。

　　So the family probably has the resources to fund expansion without resorting to financial engineering.

　　所以家族大概有用于扩张基金的资源，而不需要采取金融工具的手段。

　　All that's left is for them to agree with one another.

　　他们唯一能做的就是互相认可。

　　Today Mr Godrej supervises the firm peacefully along with his brother and cousin, while employing a cadre of professional managers.

　　今天高德瑞治先生雇佣了一个专业的管理骨干队伍，与他的兄弟姐妹一起稳定地管理公司。

　　The next generation is making its way up the ladder.

　　下一个时代就是朝这个路继续向下走。

　　By tradition all family members on the payroll¹⁴ are expected to meet for lunch on Thursdays.

　　按照传统，所有在公司的家庭成员都应该周四的时候一起吃午饭。

　　It's likely they will be more jet-lagged and stressed than in the past, but with luck there won't be any food fights for a while.

　　这很可能会使他们更加因为时差和压力的原因而比以前更感到疲倦，不过幸运的是再也不会有食物引发的战争了。

1 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

2 conglomerate   

n.综合商社，多元化集团公司

参考例句：

• The firm has been taken over by an American conglomerate.该公司已被美国一企业集团接管。
• An American conglomerate holds a major share in the company.一家美国的大联合企业持有该公司的大部分股份。

3 diversified   

adj.多样化的，多种经营的v.使多样化，多样化( diversify的过去式和过去分词 )；进入新的商业领域

参考例句：

• The college biology department has diversified by adding new courses in biotechnology. 该学院生物系通过增加生物技术方面的新课程而变得多样化。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Take grain as the key link, develop a diversified economy and ensure an all-round development. 以粮为纲，多种经营，全面发展。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 jumbled   

adj.混乱的；杂乱的

参考例句：

• Books, shoes and clothes were jumbled together on the floor. 书、鞋子和衣服胡乱堆放在地板上。
• The details of the accident were all jumbled together in his mind. 他把事故细节记得颠三倒四。

5 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 detergent   

n.洗涤剂；adj.有洗净力的

参考例句：

• He recommended a new detergent to me.他向我推荐一种新的洗涤剂。
• This detergent can remove stubborn stains.这种去污剂能去除难洗的污渍。

8 clobbered   

v.狠揍， （不停）猛打( clobber的过去式和过去分词 )；彻底击败

参考例句：

• The paper got clobbered with libel damages of half a million pounds. 这家报纸被罚以五十万英镑的诽谤损害赔偿金。
• The robbers clobbered the shopkeeper to make him open the safe. 强盗们殴打店主迫使他打开保险箱。 来自辞典例句

9 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

10 niche   

n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等)

参考例句：

• Madeleine placed it carefully in the rocky niche. 玛德琳小心翼翼地把它放在岩石壁龛里。
• The really talented among women would always make their own niche.妇女中真正有才能的人总是各得其所。

11 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

12 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

13 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

14 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。