2016年经济学人 阿里巴巴 一审再审(下)（在线收听）

Most intriguingly, the American regulator is also scrutinising how the company has handled its many related-party transactions. Jack Ma, the firm's founder, caused outrage when he unilaterally spun off AliPay, Alibaba's lucrative online-payments arm, in 2011 into an entity that he controlled. That business, now known as Ant Financial Services Group, is valued at $60 billion and is heading for a public flotation.

最有趣的是，美国监管机构也正调查该公司如何处理数量庞大的多方交易。公司创始人马云单方面将支付宝分离出来引起了众怒，支付宝是阿里巴巴盈利丰厚的在线支付手段，2011年转为独立企业。这项业务如今以蚂蚁金融服务集团为人所知，该集团市值为600亿美元并且正积极筹备公开上市。

Where will this SEC action lead? It could be a routine inspection of the sort most public companies can expect from time to time. Alibaba certainly denies any wrongdoing, noting that it is co-operating with the authorities and voluntarily disclosing the fact that it is under investigation. But if the regulators do uncover evidence of real misconduct, things could get nasty for China's most celebrated firm.

美国证券交易委员会的行动将会引向何方？也许这只是大多数在美国上市的外国企业时不时要经历的常规检查。阿里巴巴当然会否认任何不法行为，指出这是和当局的合作并主动掩盖被调查的这项事实。但是万一监管机构揭露了其不法行为的证据，中国最著名的公司将会面临极为恶劣的情况。

The only certainty, argues Vasu Muthyala of Kobre & Kim, a law firm, is that Chinese firms face greater scrutiny. Mr Muthyala, a former prosecutor who previously served at the SEC, says: “As Chinese business looks west for new capital, customers and business partners, there will inevitably be an increase in interest from American regulators.”

高博金律师事务所的 Vasu Muthyala表示唯一确定的是，中国公司面临严格的审查。曾任检察官的Muthyala现在在美国证券交易委员会任职，他表示：“因为中国企业希望在西方寻求新的资金，客户和商业伙伴，美国监管机构对中国的兴趣也会随之增加。”