英国不能出售自己通向荣耀的道路

 　　Since Britain voted to leave the EU, there has been a tendency to be downbeat about the country’s economic and industrial prospects¹. The decision by the Japanese conglomerate² SoftBank to spend ￡24bn on buying Arm Holdings seems in this light a welcome relief.

　　自从英国公投决定退出欧盟以来，出现了一种对英国经济和工业前景感到悲观的倾向。在这种背景下，日本综合性企业软银(SoftBank)斥资240亿英镑收购ARM控股(Arm Holdings)的决定，似乎提供了一种可喜的安慰。

　　Ministers have hailed the deal as a sign of confidence in the UK as a place to do business. In the words of Philip Hammond, the new chancellor³, it “shows that Britain has lost none of its allure⁴ to international investors”.

　　英国的大臣们把该交易赞为对英国经商环境有信心的信号。用新任财政大臣菲利普?哈蒙德(Philip Hammond)的话说，这“表明英国丝毫未失去对国际投资者的吸引力”。

　　However, Theresa May’s government has made vague noises about the need for a new industrial policy. In this context, a bid on this scale that captures a star in the tech firmament⁵ has implications that deserve wider debate. The deal raises questions about Britain’s corporate⁶ culture and governance. Arm is a unique asset in a somewhat threadbare UK tech landscape. The decision to sell raises questions about whether boards in general remain too focused on quick returns to shareholders⁸, rather than developing Britain’s few world-class companies for the longer term.

　　然而，特里萨?梅(Theresa May)政府已经含糊地表示过出台新工业政策的必要。在这种背景下，以如此高的价格收购一家科技业明星企业的交易，具有值得广泛讨论的意义。该交易对英国企业文化和治理提出了问题。ARM在英国乏善可陈的科技领域一枝独秀。出售ARM的决定引出了一个问题：总的来说，公司董事会是否仍然过于注重股东的快速回报、而不是长远地发展英国屈指可数的世界级企业。

　　The attraction of Arm for SoftBank is not in doubt. The UK company offers the conglomerate an entrée into the design of sophisticated chips for smartphones and mobile devices. Part of the appeal is to make the Japanese a leading player in a new growing market: the “internet of things”.

　　ARM对软银的吸引力毋庸置疑。这家英国公司给软银提供了一块进入智能手机和移动设备复杂芯片设计领域的敲门砖。部分吸引力在于，ARM可使这家日本企业在“物联网”这块全新的增长市场成为领军企业。

　　Recent foreign bids and takeovers of British companies have been stigmatised as little more than vehicles for stripping assets, tax arbitrage⁹ and carrying off intellectual property. While one cannot know how the Arm deal will turn out, SoftBank’s intentions seem a great deal more benign¹⁰. It intends to create 1,500 new jobs at Arm’s 4,000-strong Cambridge headquarters, which would represent a substantial investment in new capacity.

　　最近外国企业对英国企业的竞标和收购被指责为不过是为了剥离资产、税收套利以及抢走知识产权。尽管人们无法知道ARM交易最终结局如何，但软银的意图似乎善意得多。它打算在ARM的剑桥总部（拥有4000名员工）新增1500个工作岗位，这代表着实质性投资新产能。

　　The deal should face few regulatory obstacles. Any potential objections on competition grounds look surmountable¹¹. Although SoftBank owns mobile phone networks in Japan and the US, it has no involvement in the manufacture of phones or devices. There is no overlap¹² between SoftBank and Arm’s business. Nor is there any obvious concern about national security.

　　该交易几乎不会面临监管障碍。任何可能以竞争为由的反对看起来都是可以克服的。尽管软银在日本和美国拥有移动电话网络，但它从未涉足手机和移动设备制造。软银和ARM的业务没有重叠。该交易也未明显涉及国家安全。

　　The Japanese group does have heavy debts. After the deal it will have net borrowings of more than $100bn. These could in theory reduce its capacity or willingness to invest.

　　这家日本集团确实背有沉重的债务。在该交易完成后，它的借款净额将超过1000亿美元。从理论上看，这会降低其财力或投资意愿。

　　Ultimately, the concern is less about the identity of the purchaser and more about what motivates a world-beating UK company to surrender voluntarily its independence. Arm will not gain any compelling commercial or industrial benefit from its ownership by SoftBank. There was no sign that its current shareholders were unwilling¹³ to finance its expansionary aims. Arm had reportedly spurned¹⁴ earlier approaches.

　　归根结底，真正的关切与买家身份没什么关系，而在于是什么原因促使一家世界一流的英国公司自愿放弃其独立性。ARM不会从变身一家软银旗下公司中得到任何无法抗拒的商业或行业利益。没有迹象表明其目前的股东不愿为其扩张目标出资。据报道，ARM此前拒绝了多次收购要约。

　　This plays into a wider concern that too often in Britain, directors are quick to pursue takeovers rather than sticking to the grind of organic expansion. It reflects the prevailing¹⁵ ideology¹⁶ of shareholder⁷ primacy; one that overemphasises the importance of near-term share price performance. Bosses see their job to be about buying and selling assets. Ideally, they should run a business that adds value primarily through the goods and services it provides.

　　这就引出一个更广泛的问题：在英国，太多情况下公司的董事们会很快寻求收购，而非坚持扎扎实实的有机扩张。这反映出了股东至上的普遍观念。该观念过于强调短期内股价表现的重要性。老板认为自己的工作是买卖资产。但在理想情况下，他们经营企业应该主要通过提供商品和服务实现增值。

　　For the British government, SoftBank’s decision is a welcome shot in the arm at a time of uncertainty¹⁷ about the UK’s status as a destination for inward investment. But any post-Brexit celebration should be tempered by realism. Britain cannot sell its way to glory. If the economy is to be rebalanced away from financial services, the country must become better at nurturing¹⁸ the strategic businesses it creates.

　　对英国政府而言，在英国作为外来投资目的地的地位充满变数之际，软银的决定是一针受到欢迎的强心剂。但在后退欧时代，任何庆祝都应该从现实出发加以克制。英国不能出售自己通向荣耀的道路。如果英国经济需要重新调整、减少对金融服务业的倚重，英国必须变得更善于培养其缔造的战略性企业。

1 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

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 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

4 allure   

n.诱惑力，魅力；vt.诱惑，引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• The window displays allure customers to buy goods.橱窗陈列品吸引顾客购买货物。
• The book has a certain allure for which it is hard to find a reason.这本书有一种难以解释的魅力。

5 firmament   

n.苍穹；最高层

参考例句：

• There are no stars in the firmament.天空没有一颗星星。
• He was rich,and a rising star in the political firmament.他十分富有，并且是政治高层一颗冉冉升起的新星。

6 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

7 shareholder   

n.股东，股票持有人

参考例句：

• The account department have prepare a financial statement for the shareholder.财务部为股东准备了一份财务报表。
• A shareholder may transfer his shares in accordance with the law.股东持有的股份可以依法转让。

8 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

9 arbitrage   

n.套利，套汇

参考例句：

• This is an example of arbitrage.这就是套利的一个例子。
• That is interest arbitrage in practice.这就是所谓的套利。

10 benign   

adj.善良的，慈祥的；良性的，无危险的

参考例句：

• The benign weather brought North America a bumper crop.温和的气候给北美带来大丰收。
• Martha is a benign old lady.玛莎是个仁慈的老妇人。

11 surmountable   

可战胜的，可克服的

参考例句：

• She guessed Bertha's present difficulty, and It'seemed easily surmountable. 她猜出了伯莎目前的为难之处；而这看来很容易克服。
• Those barriers that do exist are mostly surmountable. 确实存在的障碍大多是可以克服的。

12 overlap   

v.重叠，与…交叠；n.重叠

参考例句：

• The overlap between the jacket and the trousers is not good.夹克和裤子重叠的部分不好看。
• Tiles overlap each other.屋瓦相互叠盖。

13 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。

14 spurned   

v.一脚踢开，拒绝接受( spurn的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Eve spurned Mark's invitation. 伊夫一口回绝了马克的邀请。
• With Mrs. Reed, I remember my best was always spurned with scorn. 对里德太太呢，我记得我的最大努力总是遭到唾弃。 来自辞典例句

15 prevailing   

adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的

参考例句：

• She wears a fashionable hair style prevailing in the city.她的发型是这个城市流行的款式。
• This reflects attitudes and values prevailing in society.这反映了社会上盛行的态度和价值观。

16 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

17 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

18 nurturing   

养育( nurture的现在分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长

参考例句：

• These delicate plants need careful nurturing. 这些幼嫩的植物需要精心培育。
• The modern conservatory is not an environment for nurturing plants. 这个现代化温室的环境不适合培育植物。