China’s Premier Tries to Polish His Image
By ANDREW JACOBS and JONATHAN ANSFIELD
BEIJING — Wen Jiabao has expressed regrets in his final days in office,
but he also has defended his integrity. Above, Wen with quake victims in
2008.
溫氏家族與平安崛起
報道 2012年11月27日
The New York Times
中國最大的金融服務公司之一平安正在深圳修建一座115層的寫字樓。該公司目前以500億美元資產領先於美國國際集團(AIG)、大都會人壽(MetLife)和保誠集團(Prudential)。
中國深圳——亞洲金融危機過後,一家保險公司陷入財務困境,其負責人勸說中國領導人放鬆要求拆分該公司的規定。1999年秋,官員們被告知,平安保險(Ping An Insurance)的生存危在旦夕。時任副總理的溫家寶和中國央行行長都直接收到了相關請求。這兩名位高權重的官員都對平安所在行業有監管權。
相關文章
後來平安沒被拆分。
事實證明,努力遊說取得的成果是非常巨大的。
平安後來成了中國最大的金融服務公司之一,以500億美元(約合3113億元人民幣)的身價領先於美國國際集團(AIG)、大都會人壽 (MetLife)和保誠集團(Prudential)。而在幕後,溫家寶的親屬得到了平安的股份。一旦平安實力回彈,這些股份將會價值幾十億美元。
本報上月報道,在溫家寶自2003年出任總理後的任期內,他的親屬變得非常富有,獲得了旅遊度假村、銀行、珠寶公司、電信企業以及其他企業的股份。
《紐約時報》的調查發現,截至目前為止,他們財富的最大來源是平安的股份。在平安取得豁免不受大型金融企業應進行拆分這項規定的影響約八個月後,他們買進了平安的股份。
監管記錄和公司記錄顯示,遠在大多數投資者能購買平安的股票之前,一家名為泰鴻(Taihong)的公司便通過早前在平安持有股份的國有企業獲得了 平安的大宗股權。不久後,泰鴻便被溫家寶的親屬控制了。不管怎麼看,該公司在這筆交易中獲利頗豐。據採訪和公開文件顯示,泰鴻2002年12月購買平安股 份時的價格是另一家大型投資者英國銀行滙豐控股(HSBC Holdings)兩個月前的購買價格的四分之一。
截至2004年6月,即便在平安於香港證券交易所(Hong Kong Stock Exchange)上市之前,溫家寶親屬所持股份的價值已是四倍於從前。截至2007年,泰鴻最初那6500萬美元的投資已價值37億美元。
公司記錄顯示,溫家寶的親屬通過那筆投資獲得的利益極有可能在2007年年底達到22億美元的峰值。2007年是泰鴻作為股東的記錄公開可查的最後一年。因為泰鴻不再出現在平安的公開文件中,目前尚不清楚溫家寶的親屬是否繼續持有平安的股份。
同樣無法獲知的是,溫家寶和時任央行行長戴相龍是否親自介入,批覆了平安不要拆分該公司的申請,以及溫家寶對自己親屬持有的股份是否知曉。
但平安的內部文件、政府文件以及同銀行家和平安前高管的採訪表明,在參加了相關會議的監管部門中,副總理辦公室和央行都名列其中,且都有權批准不拆分平安。
文件顯示,只有兩家大型國有金融機構得到了類似的批准,免於被拆分,而三家大型國有保險公司都被迫進行了拆分。中國的許多大型銀行都按照拆分要求,出售了在其他機構的資產。對大型金融機構進行拆分的規定是金融危機後出於對金融體系穩定性的擔憂而實行的。
平安向《紐約時報》發了一份聲明,稱公司嚴格遵守法律法規,不過並不知曉股東背後的所有機構的背景。平安還表示:“股東之間的任何股權轉讓是股東的正當權利。”
中國外交部沒有回復請其為本文置評的電話。早些時候,外交部的一名發言人嚴厲批評了本報對溫家寶家屬的財務狀況所做的調查,稱“有關媒體的報道抹黑中國,別有用心”。
本報上月報道了總理家族的財富後,代表溫家寶家族的律師稱本報文章中有未指明的錯誤且溫氏家族保留採取法律措施的權利。
此外,中國政府屏蔽了中國大陸對《紐約時報》中英文網站的訪問,稱採取該行動“符合法律和法規”。目前,對本報中英文網站的屏蔽仍在繼續。
本報無法和溫家寶或戴相龍取得聯繫以求置評。預計溫家寶將於明年3月退休。而戴相龍現在是全國社會保障基金理事會理事長。
參與了平安2004年香港上市,及其後來2007年上海上市的中外銀行家和律師稱,他們當時並不知道溫家寶的親屬獲得了該公司的大量股份。
摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)和高盛(Goldman Sachs)曾持有大量的平安股份,並在平安於香港首次公開募股時,作為主承銷商。兩家公司的高管也表示,從未被告知溫家人的持股情況。在平安的敦促下, 這兩家投資銀行也在2000年向溫家寶及其他監管者提出請求,不要按照規定拆分平安。2005年,兩家投行的私募股權融資部門把他們持有的平安股份以一起 賣給滙豐銀行。出售價約為10億美元,比他們最初投資上漲了14倍。
《紐約時報》查閱的幾千頁公開公司文件顯示,溫家寶的親屬並未直接以他們自己的名義持有平安股份,而是用一層又一層隱蔽的合伙人關係掩蓋了他們的持股狀況。
在上個月的一次訪談中,溫家的一位富商朋友段偉紅稱,其實是她持有那部分平安股份,而溫家寶親屬出現在持股記錄上,只是一個意外。這個過程包括借用他們的身份證件,並取得他們的簽名。
對於披露與上市公司運營直接相關的基本公司信息,中國大陸和香港地區都有詳細的法規。這些信息包括大股東的身份,以及持有大量股份的公司是否為關聯 方等等。但是法律專家稱,這些法規的執行力度一般都很弱,這點在大陸地區尤甚。他們說,也有一種名義股東的習慣做法,亦即由某人代表另外一個人持股。在這 種情況下,甚至最有經驗的律師和會計師都無法一窺究竟。
《紐約時報》並未發現有跡象顯示,這方面的法規或任何其他法律被違反,也未找到任何證據證明溫家寶以本人名義持有平安股份。
在研究過《紐約時報》提出的問題後,香港證券及期貨事務監察委員會(Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong)及香港證券交易所拒絕發表評論。北京的中國證券監督管理委員會則並未回應質詢。
平安現在最大的股東、持有15.5%平安股份的滙豐銀行,也拒絕發表評論。滙豐銀行上周宣布,作為其廣泛籌資活動的一部分,正在考慮出售自己持有的平安股份。
如今,平安是一個成功的大集團,去年的營收為400億美元,在中國有約50萬名保險銷售員。它是中國唯一的完全一體化的金融機構,擁有中國第二大的保險公司、一家信託公司和一家證券公司。
2010年末,平安進一步增強力量,宣布了一個40億美元的交易,並從此控制了中國中型商業銀行之一,深圳發展銀行。現在,平安正在深圳修建一個新的公司總部,一棟115層的壯觀辦公樓。該大樓由紐約建築公司KPF建築設計所(Kohn Pedersen Fox)所設計。
差點被拆分
高中畢業生出身的平安董事長、首席執行官馬明哲,最初是袁庚的助手。袁庚是中國最早的一些經濟改革中的先驅者,也是平安保險的早期領導者。
袁庚欣賞馬明哲的聰明才幹,因而讓他負責一個由國家管理的工業園的人事工作,並最終讓他負責新成立的平安保險公司。平安保險在新興海濱城市深圳生根發芽。
馬明哲的時機很好。那時中國剛剛開始重構其國家主導的經濟體系。政府開始打破共產黨幹部在養老金、社保和住房保障上的鐵飯碗。
儘管平安創立之初是國企,卻是首批實驗西方管理模式的中國保險公司之一,包括聘用保險業務精算師,開展後台運營工作,及引入外國股東。
1988年,平安成立。馬明哲負責協助管理這家小公司。幾年後,他為公司尋覓美國的知名股東。
1994年,摩根士丹利和高盛的私募股權融資部門各自出資約3500萬美金,購買了7.5%的平安股份。在當時,這是一家中國金融機構收到的最大一筆外商投資。
平安最初的成功大多歸功於馬明哲。馬明哲是個充滿衝勁的高管,因其管理技巧、政治技巧及冒險精神而受到推崇。
“他具備一個偉大企業家的所有特質,”曾在20世紀90年代參與管理平安上海分公司的嚴峰稱,“他學習能力很強,知道怎麼適應新形勢,而且做事很有決心。為了實現目標不惜一切代價。”
但1997年爆發的亞洲金融危機波及到中國後,中國經濟在20世紀90年代末走軟,該公司的增長動力遇到了問題。
臃腫的國有企業開始崩潰,到了1998年,中國一些最大的國有銀行幾近破產。
平安辛苦得來的財富也開始不斷蒸發。和中國大多數大型保險公司一樣,平安是利用可以保證大筆收益的長期投資產品來贏取新客戶,這些收益是利用銀行在通脹時期為存款提供的高額利率來獲得的。20世紀90年代中期,銀行利率暴跌,該公司也損失慘重。
1999年,平安的高管開始承認,該公司處於破產邊緣。作為一家聯合控股的股份公司,平安擁有很多大型機構投資者,其中大部分都是國有企業。但很多這些公司都拒絕通過購買更多股份,為平安提供需要的資本金來進行救助。
平安一名前高管在要求匿名的前提下透露,“當時大家都不確定平安能不能繼續下去,以後會怎麼樣。”
此外,來自政府的壓力也在不斷增大。因為擔心金融體系存在的系統性風險,北京的監管機關加大執法力度,要求金融機構限制經營活動的範圍。
銀行被告知要出售證券公司或信託公司的股份;保險公司則必須在人壽保險和財產保險之間做選擇,而不再同時經營兩者。
1998年中國新的保險監管機構成立,之後它開始施壓,讓平安拆分其信託和證券業務,並將人壽和財產保險部門分成獨立的公司。
1999年11月,時任中國保險監督管理委員會主席的馬永偉在一次新聞發佈會上稱,該機構已經做好計劃,要對平安及其他保險公司進行拆分。
“分業經營方案已經提交國務院審批,”馬永偉對媒體稱,他還表示將“深化保險系統的改革”。
監管機構讓步
在公司即將拆分之際,馬明哲(英文名Peter Ma)開始給北京的領導人寫信,向助手口述備忘錄提醒自己要為高層官員“購買高爾夫球杆”,還列出詳細的圖表,規定平安每一位高管應該擔起的遊說責任,上述記錄的副本顯示。這些副本已經經過了前平安高管的核實。
馬明哲將自己的精力鎖定在中國政府最高的行政機構國務院上,國務院由38名成員組成,高級領導人包括總理朱鎔基和副總理溫家寶。此外,平安還同時向有監管保險業責任的中國央行行長戴相龍尋求幫助。
溫家寶地位獨特。他曾在權力巨大的中央金融工委任書記,中央金融工委成立於1998年,負責監督中國的銀行業、證券和保險監管機構,以及中國的大型金融機構。
平安的會議記錄以及對出席者的採訪顯示,馬明哲和這些監管者見了面,稱自己的公司臨近破產,希望他們能夠批准該公司在香港發行股票,從而改善該公司的資產負債表。
“目前,平安的壽險虧損,產險和信託微有盈利,”馬明哲在1999年9月29日寫給溫家寶的信中說道。平安兩名前任高管證實了這封信的內容。
在不進行徹底拆分的情況下,馬明哲提出了一條折衷之道。他在徵求了其他投資者的意見之後,提議成立一家控股公司,實際上分開人壽保險和財產保險業務,但同時又將這兩個部門,以及證券和信託部門,置於同一家公司旗下。
他說,這個公司將重組為平安集團,《紐約時報》查看過的平安文件顯示。之後,他就開始為自己的提議尋找支持者。
2000年1月,在馬明哲的支持下,摩根士丹利和高盛的高管們聯名給溫家寶寫信稱,拆分將“違反中國鼓勵並保護外國投資的政策”,《紐約時報》查閱的該信函的副本顯示。這封信的真實性已經由這兩家投資銀行的前任高管證實。
上述美國投資銀行警告說,“作為美國上市公司,我們可能需要披露與投資平安相關的損失。這對於向外界展示中國改革開放政策的形象,並沒有幫助。”
《紐約時報》查閱到的公司文件顯示,這封信發出之前,平安高管以及兩家美國投資銀行已經進行了數月的積極遊說,勸說北京的其他高層官員,包括中央銀行和保險監管部門,讓平安保持完整。
早在1999年,平安高管也已經開始與溫家寶的家人進行接觸。
前平安員工胡坤曾在1997年至2000年之間擔任馬明哲的助理。胡坤回顧了馬明哲與溫家寶的妻子張蓓莉1999年的一次會面。
胡坤表示,他沒有被告知會面時發生了什麼,但他記得馬明哲的反應。胡坤說,“因為那次會面,馬董事長很激動。”胡坤現在居住在美國,他聲稱,平安欠自己5.2萬股股票,並曾因此與平安產生了糾紛。
《紐約時報》查閱的公司記錄顯示,1999年6月17日下午,馬明哲與溫家寶的妻子,以及時任平安駐北京代表處主任的李春彥會面,隨後還共進晚餐。
席間談話的內容不為外界所知,但雙方的關係似乎開始蓬勃發展。大約在同一時期,由張蓓莉的親戚部分控制的鑽石公司,開始在平安位於北京的辦公大樓佔 據辦公空間,該鑽石公司向監管部門提交的文件顯示。幾位平安前高管在接受採訪時透露,之後,溫家寶之子溫雲松與人共同建立的創業企業,從平安贏得了利潤豐 厚的科技合同。
現年56歲的馬明哲仍然控制着平安集團,他拒絕對本文發表評論。胡坤的回憶,及《紐約時報》查閱的相關文件中關於平安的遊說努力,以及與溫家寶親屬會面的情節,通過對四名曾在同一段時間,在該公司深圳總部與馬明哲和胡坤共事的高管進行採訪得到了印證。
此外,當時負責北京代表處的李春彥在接受電話採訪時也確認,在那段時間,他曾帶張蓓莉與平安董事長馬明哲會面。
但文件和採訪並沒有揭示,幾次會面,是否對政府監管部門放棄拆分平安的決定產生了影響。不過在2002年4月,中國的最高監管部門作出了決定。經過國務院及保險監管部門的批准,平安開始了將自己轉變為一家金融集團的過程。
該公司不僅獲準保留財產保險和人壽保險的牌照,還獲準保留經營證券公司和信託公司的牌照。平安還獲准取得了一張銀行牌照。
分析人士稱,在中國受到嚴格管制的市場上,這些牌照價值連城。
瑞銀(UBS)長期關注保險行業的駐香港分析師梁智勤(Bob Leung)說,“享受到了挖掘金礦一般的高回報的人少之又少,他們就是其中之一。”
2002年底,平安不僅安然渡過了下滑趨勢,還呈現了光明的前景。公司的重組促進了收入和利潤的增長。當年10月,全世界最大的銀行之一滙豐銀行同意支付6億美元,從平安購買10%的股份。僅僅一年多以後,監管部門就批准該公司在香港交易所上市銷售股票。
在平安籌備赴香港上市時,一群與包括溫家寶在內的北京高層官員有緊密聯繫的投資者,正在靜悄悄地大量囤積平安股份。
買進平安
平安披露的信息顯示,2002年12月26日,來自總理故鄉的溫家好友段偉紅經營的一家公司,通過一家名為泰鴻的企業購入平安股份。記錄顯示,之後不久,溫家寶的親戚,及其妻子的同事控制了這個投資工具。
根據平安在香港上市前提供的文件,泰鴻先是從全球運輸巨頭中國遠洋運輸(集團)總公司(簡稱為“中遠”)手中購買了7770萬股平安股份,後來又從 中遠的大連分支機構購入220萬股。股份一拆二之後,泰鴻擁有的股份數量翻番。因此,根據公開披露的文件,2004年6月,即平安在香港上市前夕,泰鴻持 有1.598億股平安股份,約佔總股份的3.2%。
在一次採訪中,段偉紅稱,為了購買這些股份,她每股花費了約40美分(按照當前的匯率),共計6500萬美元。
分析人士稱,這一價格似乎享受了非同尋常的大折扣,因為根據公開披露的文件,在這之前的兩個月,滙豐購買了平安10%的股份,每股約1.6美元。
中遠沒有回復置評請求。
對泰鴻而言,這筆買賣大獲成功。2007年,平安股價達到峰值,這1.59億股的估值為37億美元。不過,根據公開披露的文件,泰鴻已於2007年前大幅降低了持股額。
根據公司和監管文件,儘管泰鴻是名義上的股東,但是平安這比交易的受益人隱藏在溫家寶的親屬控制的十幾個投資工具之後,包括他的一個弟媳、他妻子張蓓莉的兩名兄弟,以及她的數個長期同事和生意夥伴。所有這些人都與段偉紅一起,列為泰鴻的持有人。
根據公開文件,到2007年,溫家寶總理現年91歲的母親,通過與泰鴻相關的兩家投資公司,持有價值1.2億美元的平安股票。
段偉紅稱,她從2000年開始認識溫家寶的家人,但這些平安股份都是為她個人的賬戶購買的。她說,溫家寶的親屬之所以出現在泰鴻的持股記錄里,僅僅是因為她的公司借用了他人由政府頒發的身份證,以便向公眾掩蓋她自己持有的平安股份。她稱,總理親屬的身份證是錯誤借用的。
段偉紅說,“最後的收益,100%都歸我所有。”
餘波
2001年,中國頒佈了新的法規,限制共產黨員及其家庭成員進行股票交易。
比方說,法規禁止負責國有企業的共產黨官員利用親屬來買賣上市國有企業的股票。這些親屬包括父母、子女,甚至還包括子女配偶的親屬。
《紐約時報》沒有發現溫家寶與家庭成員分享內幕信息的跡象。
但是,《紐約時報》諮詢的分析人士稱,關於這些親屬持有的股份,有很多有待解答的問題,比如,誰可能知曉這些親屬購買了股票,以及是否有人應當承擔披露這些信息的法律義務。
摩根士丹利和高盛的高管稱,他們既不知道這些股份買賣活動,也沒有參與到交易中。
這兩家公司還稱,典型的首次公開發行(IPO)程序中,不太可能發現隱藏在多重投資工具背後、採用陌生姓名的股東的真正身份。
根據香港和中國內地的監管法規,公開上市的公司及幫助其承銷股票的專業服務夥伴,有法律義務披露持股比例超過5%的股東的身份。《紐約時報》發現,即便是在持股最多的時候,溫家寶家人的投資工具泰鴻所持有的股份比例也從未超過3.2%。
另一個有待解答的問題是,泰鴻如何能夠以似乎極其優惠的價格購買平安的股份。到2002年底,隨着滙豐的一大筆投資,平安的IPO前景已經極度看好。
法律專家稱,一些問題的答案可能在於,在平安2004年上市之前,誰作為中間人促成了這些親屬購買該公司的股份,以及這些撮合交易的人是否試圖從監管機構得到好處。
紐約大學法學院(New York University Law School)教授、中國司法系統專家孔傑榮(Jerome A. Cohen)說,“關鍵問題是,為什麼選中了這些人,以及他們獲得這些股份的條件是什麼?很顯然,每個人都想在一樁熱門IPO進行之前參與其中。”
Lobbying, a Windfall and a Leader’s Family
By DAVID BARBOZA November 27, 2012
温氏家族与平安崛起
报道 2012年11月27日
SHENZHEN, China — The head of a
financially troubled insurer was pushing Chinese officials to relax
rules that required breaking up the company in the aftermath of the
Asian financial crisis.
中国深圳——亚洲金融危机过后,一家保险公司陷入财务困境,其负责人劝说中国领导人放松要求拆分该公司的规定。
The survival of Ping An Insurance
was at stake, officials were told in the fall of 1999. Direct appeals
were made to the vice premier at the time, Wen Jiabao, as well as the then-head of China’s central bank — two powerful officials with oversight of the industry.
1999年秋,官员们被告知,平安保险(Ping An Insurance)的生存危在旦夕。时任副总理的温家宝和中国央行行长都直接收到了相关请求。这两名位高权重的官员都对平安所在行业有监管权。
“I humbly request that the vice
premier lead and coordinate the matter from a higher level,” Ma Mingzhe,
chairman of Ping An, implored in a letter to Mr. Wen that was reviewed
by The New York Times.
《纽约时报》查阅了平安董事长马明哲写给温家宝的一封信。马明哲在信中请求道,“恳请温副总理从更高的层次予以领导和协调。”
中国最大的金融服务公司之一平安正在深圳修建一座115层的写字楼。该公司目前以500亿美元资产领先于美国国际集团(AIG)、大都会人寿(MetLife)和保诚集团(Prudential)。
Ping An was not broken up.
后来平安没被拆分。
The successful outcome of the lobbying effort would prove monumental.
事实证明,努力游说取得的成果是非常巨大的。
Ping An went on to become one of
China’s largest financial services companies, a $50 billion powerhouse
now worth more than A.I.G., MetLife or Prudential. And behind the
scenes, shares in Ping An that would be worth billions of dollars once
the company rebounded were acquired by relatives of Mr. Wen.
平安后来成了中国最大的金融服务公司之一,以500亿美元(约合
3113亿元人民币)的身价领先于美国国际集团(AIG)、大都会人寿(MetLife)和保诚集团(Prudential)。而在幕后,温家宝的亲属得
到了平安的股份。一旦平安实力回弹,这些股份将会价值几十亿美元。
The Times reported last month that the relatives of Mr. Wen, who became prime minister in 2003, had grown extraordinarily wealthy
during his leadership, acquiring stakes in tourist resorts, banks,
jewelers, telecommunications companies and other business ventures.
本报上月报道,在温家宝自2003年出任总理后的任期内,他的亲属变得非常富有,获得了旅游度假村、银行、珠宝公司、电信企业以及其他企业的股份。
The greatest source of wealth, by
far, The Times investigation has found, came from the shares in Ping An
bought about eight months after the insurer was granted a waiver to the
requirement that big financial companies be broken up.
《纽约时报》的调查发现,截至目前为止,他们财富的最大来源是平安的股份。在平安取得豁免不受大型金融企业应进行拆分这项规定的影响约八个月后,他们买进了平安的股份。
Long before most investors could
buy Ping An stock, Taihong, a company that would soon be controlled by
Mr. Wen’s relatives, acquired a large stake in Ping An from state-owned
entities that held shares in the insurer, regulatory and corporate
records show. And by all appearances, Taihong got a sweet deal. The
shares were bought in December 2002 for one-quarter of the price that
another big investor — the British bank HSBC Holdings — paid for its
shares just two months earlier, according to interviews and public
filings.
监管记录和公司记录显示,远在大多数投资者能购买平安的股票之前,一家
名为泰鸿(Taihong)的公司便通过早前在平安持有股份的国有企业获得了平安的大宗股权。不久后,泰鸿便被温家宝的亲属控制了。不管怎么看,该公司在
这笔交易中获利颇丰。据采访和公开文件显示,泰鸿2002年12月购买平安股份时的价格是另一家大型投资者英国银行汇丰控股(HSBC
Holdings)两个月前的购买价格的四分之一。
By June 2004, the shares held by
the Wen relatives had already quadrupled in value, even before the
company was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. And by 2007, the
initial $65 million investment made by Taihong would be worth $3.7
billion.
截至2004年6月,即便在平安于香港证券交易所(Hong Kong Stock Exchange)上市之前,温家宝亲属所持股份的价值已是四倍于从前。截至2007年,泰鸿最初那6500万美元的投资已价值37亿美元。
Corporate records show that the
relatives’ stake of that investment most likely peaked at $2.2 billion
in late 2007, the last year in which Taihong’s shareholder records were
publicly available. Because the company is no longer listed in Ping An’s
public filings, it is unclear if the relatives continue to hold shares.
公司记录显示,温家宝的亲属通过那笔投资获得的利益极有可能在2007年年底达到22亿美元的峰值。2007年是泰鸿作为股东的记录公开可查的最后一年。因为泰鸿不再出现在平安的公开文件中,目前尚不清楚温家宝的亲属是否继续持有平安的股份。
It is also not known whether Mr.
Wen or the central bank chief at the time, Dai Xianglong, personally
intervened on behalf of Ping An’s request for a waiver, or if Mr. Wen
was even aware of the stakes held by his relatives.
同样无法获知的是,温家宝和时任央行行长戴相龙是否亲自介入,批复了平安不要拆分该公司的申请,以及温家宝对自己亲属持有的股份是否知晓。
But internal Ping An documents,
government filings and interviews with bankers and former senior
executives at Ping An indicate that both the vice premier’s office and
the central bank were among the regulators involved in the Ping An
waiver meetings and who had the authority to sign off on the waiver.
但平安的内部文件、政府文件以及同银行家和平安前高管的采访表明,在参加了相关会议的监管部门中,副总理办公室和央行都名列其中,且都有权批准不拆分平安。
Only two large state-run
financial institutions were granted similar waivers, filings show, while
three of China’s big state-run insurance companies were forced to break
up. Many of the country’s big banks complied with the breakup
requirement — enforced after the financial crisis because of concerns
about the stability of the financial system — by selling their assets in
other institutions.
文件显示,只有两家大型国有金融机构得到了类似的批准,免于被拆分,而三家大型国有保险公司都被迫进行了拆分。中国的许多大型银行都按照拆分要求,出售了在其他机构的资产。对大型金融机构进行拆分的规定是金融危机后出于对金融体系稳定性的担忧而实行的。
Ping An issued a statement to The
Times saying the company strictly complies with rules and regulations,
but does not know the backgrounds of all entities behind shareholders.
The company also said “it is the legitimate right of shareholders to buy
and sell shares between themselves.”
平安向《纽约时报》发了一份声明,称公司严格遵守法律法规,不过并不知晓股东背后的所有机构的背景。平安还表示:“股东之间的任何股权转让是股东的正当权利。”
In Beijing, China’s foreign
ministry did not return calls seeking comment for this article. Earlier,
a Foreign Ministry spokesman sharply criticized the investigation by
The Times into the finances of Mr. Wen’s relatives, saying it “smears
China and has ulterior motives.”
中国外交部没有回复请其为本文置评的电话。早些时候,外交部的一名发言人严厉批评了本报对温家宝家属的财务状况所做的调查,称“有关媒体的报道抹黑中国,别有用心”。
After The Times reported last
month on the family’s wealth, lawyers representing the family said the
article contained unspecified errors and that the family reserved the
right to take legal action.
本报上月报道了总理家族的财富后,代表温家宝家族的律师称本报文章中有未指明的错误且温氏家族保留采取法律措施的权利。
In addition, the Chinese government blocked access
to the English-language and Chinese-language Web sites of The Times in
China — and continues to do so — saying the action was “in accordance
with laws and rules.”
此外,中国政府屏蔽了中国大陆对《纽约时报》中英文网站的访问,称采取该行动“符合法律和法规”。目前,对本报中英文网站的屏蔽仍在继续。
Neither Mr. Wen, who is expected
to retire in March, nor Mr. Dai, who is now the head of the National
Social Security Fund, could be reached for comment.
本报无法和温家宝或戴相龙取得联系以求置评。预计温家宝将于明年3月退休。而戴相龙现在是全国社会保障基金理事会理事长。
Western and Chinese bankers and
lawyers involved in Ping An’s 2004 Hong Kong stock listing and a
subsequent 2007 listing in Shanghai said they did not know that
relatives of Mr. Wen had acquired large stakes in the company.
参与了平安2004年香港上市,及其后来2007年上海上市的中外银行家和律师称,他们当时并不知道温家宝的亲属获得了该公司的大量股份。
Executives at Morgan Stanley and
Goldman Sachs, which once held sizable stakes in Ping An and served as
lead underwriters for the Hong Kong public offering, also said they were
never told of the holdings. At Ping An’s urging, the two investment
banks had also appealed in 2000 to Mr. Wen and other regulators for the
waiver from the breakup rule. The private equity
divisions of the two investment banks sold their combined stakes to
HSBC in 2005 for about $1 billion — a 14-fold increase on their initial
investment.
摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)和高盛(Goldman
Sachs)曾持有大量的平安股份,并在平安于香港首次公开募股时,作为主承销商。两家公司的高管也表示,从未被告知温家人的持股情况。在平安的敦促下,
这两家投资银行也在2000年向温家宝及其他监管者提出请求,不要按照规定拆分平安。2005年,两家投行的私募股权融资部门把他们持有的平安股份以一起
卖给汇丰银行。出售价约为10亿美元,比他们最初投资上涨了14倍。
Thousands of pages of publicly
available corporate documents reviewed by The Times suggest that the
Ping An stakes held by the prime minister’s relatives were concealed
behind layers of obscure partnerships rather than being held directly in
their names.
《纽约时报》查阅的几千页公开公司文件显示,温家宝的亲属并未直接以他们自己的名义持有平安股份,而是用一层又一层隐蔽的合伙人关系掩盖了他们的持股状况。
In an interview last month, Duan
Weihong, a wealthy Wen family friend, said that the shares in Ping An
actually belonged to her and that it was an accident that Mr. Wen’s
relatives appeared in shareholding records. The process involved
borrowing their government identity cards and obtaining their
signatures.
在上个月的一次访谈中,温家的一位富商朋友段伟红称,其实是她持有那部分平安股份,而温家宝亲属出现在持股记录上,只是一个意外。这个过程包括借用他们的身份证件,并取得他们的签名。
China and Hong Kong have detailed
regulations on the disclosure of corporate information deemed material
to a publicly listed company’s operation, like the identities of large
shareholders and details about whether companies controlling large
stakes are related parties. But legal experts say enforcement is often
lax, particularly inside China. There is also, they say, a culture of
nominee shareholders — when one person holds shares on behalf of someone
else — that is difficult for even the most seasoned lawyers and
accountants to penetrate.
对于披露与上市公司运营直接相关的基本公司信息,中国大陆和香港地区都
有详细的法规。这些信息包括大股东的身份,以及持有大量股份的公司是否为关联方等等。但是法律专家称,这些法规的执行力度一般都很弱,这点在大陆地区尤
甚。他们说,也有一种名义股东的习惯做法,亦即由某人代表另外一个人持股。在这种情况下,甚至最有经验的律师和会计师都无法一窥究竟。
The Times found no indication
such regulations or any law was broken, nor any evidence that Mr. Wen
held shares in Ping An under his own name.
《纽约时报》并未发现有迹象显示,这方面的法规或任何其他法律被违反,也未找到任何证据证明温家宝以本人名义持有平安股份。
After reviewing questions from
The Times, the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong and the
Hong Kong Stock Exchange declined to comment. The China Securities
Regulatory Commission in Beijing did not respond to inquiries.
在研究过《纽约时报》提出的问题后,香港证券及期货事务监察委员会(Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong)及香港证券交易所拒绝发表评论。北京的中国证券监督管理委员会则并未回应质询。
HSBC, today Ping An’s largest
shareholder with about 15.5 percent of its stock, declined to comment.
The company announced last week that it is considering selling its stake
in Ping An as part of a broad effort to raise capital.
平安现在最大的股东、持有15.5%平安股份的汇丰银行,也拒绝发表评论。汇丰银行上周宣布,作为其广泛筹资活动的一部分,正在考虑出售自己持有的平安股份。
Ping An today is a hugely
successful conglomerate with revenue of $40 billion last year and about
500,000 insurance agents across China. It is China’s only fully
integrated financial institution, with the second largest insurer, a
trust company and brokerage house.
如今,平安是一个成功的大集团,去年的营收为400亿美元,在中国有约50万名保险销售员。它是中国唯一的完全一体化的金融机构,拥有中国第二大的保险公司、一家信托公司和一家证券公司。
In late 2010, Ping An added more
firepower, announcing a $4 billion deal that has since given it control
of the Shenzhen Development Bank, one of China’s midsize commercial
banks. Ping An is now building a new headquarters here in Shenzhen, a spectacular 115-story office tower that was designed by the New York architectural firm Kohn Pedersen Fox.
2010年末,平安进一步增强力量,宣布了一个40亿美元的交易,并从此控制了中国中型商业银行之一,深圳发展银行。现在,平安正在深圳修建一个新的公司总部,一栋115层的壮观办公楼。该大楼由纽约建筑公司KPF建筑设计所(Kohn Pedersen Fox)所设计。
Ping An’s Close Call
差点被拆分
Ma Mingzhe, the Ping An chairman
and chief executive, was a high school graduate who got his start as an
aide to Yuan Geng, a pioneering figure in some of China’s earliest
economic reforms and an early leader of Ping An.
高中毕业生出身的平安董事长、首席执行官马明哲,最初是袁庚的助手。袁庚是中国最早的一些经济改革中的先驱者,也是平安保险的早期领导者。
Impressed with Mr. Ma’s
intellect, Mr. Yuan put him in charge of human resources at a
state-managed industrial park, and eventually at a new insurance firm,
Ping An, which took root in Shenzhen, a coastal boomtown.
袁庚欣赏马明哲的聪明才干,因而让他负责一个由国家管理的工业园的人事工作,并最终让他负责新成立的平安保险公司。平安保险在新兴海滨城市深圳生根发芽。
Mr. Ma’s timing was opportune.
China was just beginning to restructure its state-led economy. The
government began dismantling the iron rice bowl system, which had
guaranteed pensions, social insurance and living quarters to Communist
Party cadres.
马明哲的时机很好。那时中国刚刚开始重构其国家主导的经济体系。政府开始打破共产党干部在养老金、社保和住房保障上的铁饭碗。
Although Ping An was founded as a
state entity, it was one of the first Chinese insurance companies to
experiment with Western management systems, including the use of
actuaries and back-office operations, as well as foreign shareholders.
尽管平安创立之初是国企,却是首批实验西方管理模式的中国保险公司之一,包括聘用保险业务精算师,开展后台运营工作,及引入外国股东。
Mr. Ma helped manage the tiny
company when it was founded in 1988. Several years later, he was looking
for big-name shareholders from the United States.
1988年,平安成立。马明哲负责协助管理这家小公司。几年后,他为公司寻觅美国的知名股东。
In 1994, the private equity
divisions of Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs each paid about $35
million to acquire 7.5 percent interests in Ping An. At the time, they
were the largest foreign investments ever made in a Chinese financial
institution.
1994年,摩根士丹利和高盛的私募股权融资部门各自出资约3500万美金,购买了7.5%的平安股份。在当时,这是一家中国金融机构收到的最大一笔外商投资。
Much of the company’s early
success was attributed to Mr. Ma, a hard-charging executive who was
admired for his management and political skills — and for taking risks.
平安最初的成功大多归功于马明哲。马明哲是个充满冲劲的高管,因其管理技巧、政治技巧及冒险精神而受到推崇。
“He had all the qualities of a
great entrepreneur,” says Yan Feng, who helped run Ping An’s Shanghai
office in the 1990s. “He was a quick learner, knew how to adapt to new
situations and was really determined. He’d do whatever it takes to get
what he wants.”
“他具备一个伟大企业家的所有特质,”曾在20世纪90年代参与管理平安上海分公司的严峰称,“他学习能力很强,知道怎么适应新形势,而且做事很有决心。为了实现目标不惜一切代价。”
But the company’s growth drive
ran into trouble in the late 1990s, when China’s economy weakened after
the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
但1997年爆发的亚洲金融危机波及到中国后,中国经济在20世纪90年代末走软,该公司的增长动力遇到了问题。
The bloated state sector began to collapse, and by 1998, some of the nation’s biggest banks were nearly insolvent.
臃肿的国有企业开始崩溃,到了1998年,中国一些最大的国有银行几近破产。
Ping An’s hard-won fortunes were
also evaporating. Like most big Chinese insurers, Ping An had won new
clients with investment products that guaranteed big returns over long
periods based on the high interest rates banks offered for deposits
during a time of inflation. When interest rates plummeted in the
mid-1990s, losses piled up.
平安辛苦得来的财富也开始不断蒸发。和中国大多数大型保险公司一样,平安是利用可以保证大笔收益的长期投资产品来赢取新客户,这些收益是利用银行在通胀时期为存款提供的高额利率来获得的。20世纪90年代中期,银行利率暴跌,该公司也损失惨重。
In 1999, senior executives at
Ping An began to acknowledge that the company could soon be insolvent.
As a joint-stockholding company, Ping An had big institutional
investors, mostly state companies. But many of them refused to come to
the company’s aid by purchasing additional shares, which would have
provided needed capital.
1999年,平安的高管开始承认,该公司处于破产边缘。作为一家联合控股的股份公司,平安拥有很多大型机构投资者,其中大部分都是国有企业。但很多这些公司都拒绝通过购买更多股份,为平安提供需要的资本金来进行救助。
“They weren’t sure Ping An would survive,” said one former Ping An executive who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
平安一名前高管在要求匿名的前提下透露,“当时大家都不确定平安能不能继续下去,以后会怎么样。”
There was also mounting pressure
from the government. Worried about systemic risks to the financial
system, regulators in Beijing stepped up their enforcement of laws that
required financial institutions to limit the scope of their business
activities.
此外,来自政府的压力也在不断增大。因为担心金融体系存在的系统性风险,北京的监管机关加大执法力度,要求金融机构限制经营活动的范围。
Banks were told to sell their
stakes in brokerage houses or trust companies; and insurance companies
had to choose to operate in life or property insurance, but not both.
银行被告知要出售证券公司或信托公司的股份;保险公司则必须在人寿保险和财产保险之间做选择,而不再同时经营两者。
After China’s new insurance
regulatory agency was established in 1998, it began pressing Ping An to
shed its trust and securities business, and to split its life and
property insurance divisions into separate companies.
1998年中国新的保险监管机构成立,之后它开始施压,让平安拆分其信托和证券业务,并将人寿和财产保险部门分成独立的公司。
At a news conference in November
1999, Ma Yongwei, then the chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory
Commission, said the agency had already drawn up plans to split up Ping
An and other insurers.
1999年11月,时任中国保险监督管理委员会主席的马永伟在一次新闻发布会上称,该机构已经做好计划,要对平安及其他保险公司进行拆分。
“The separation plans have been
submitted to the State Council for approval,” Ma Yongwei told the media,
adding that they would “deepen reform of the insurance system.”
“分业经营方案已经提交国务院审批,”马永伟对媒体称,他还表示将“深化保险系统的改革”。
Pushing Back the Regulators
监管机构让步
With his company about to be
broken up, Ma Mingzhe, also known as Peter Ma, fired off letters to
leaders in Beijing, dictated memos reminding himself to “buy golf clubs”
for high-ranking officials, and kept detailed charts outlining the
lobbying responsibilities of each top executive at Ping An, according to
a copy of those records verified by former Ping An executives.
在公司即将拆分之际,马明哲(英文名Peter Ma)开始给北京的领导人写信,向助手口述备忘录提醒自己要为高层官员“购买高尔夫球杆”,还列出详细的图表,规定平安每一位高管应该担起的游说责任,上述记录的副本显示。这些副本已经经过了前平安高管的核实。
Mr. Ma focused much of his
personal energy on China’s highest government administrative body, the
State Council, a 38-member group whose senior leaders were Prime
Minister Zhu Rongji and Wen Jiabao, then vice premier. The company also
sought the support of Dai Xianglong, the nation’s central bank chief,
who also had oversight over the insurance industry.
马明哲将自己的精力锁定在中国政府最高的行政机构国务院上,国务院由38名成员组成,高级领导人包括总理朱镕基和副总理温家宝。此外,平安还同时向有监管保险业责任的中国央行行长戴相龙寻求帮助。
Mr. Wen was in a unique position.
He was head of China’s powerful Central Financial Work Commission,
which had been established in 1998 to oversee the country’s banking,
securities and insurance regulators, as well as China’s biggest
financial institutions.
温家宝地位独特。他曾在权力巨大的中央金融工委任书记,中央金融工委成立于1998年,负责监督中国的银行业、证券和保险监管机构,以及中国的大型金融机构。
When Mr. Ma met regulators, he
told them his company was facing insolvency and asked them to help shore
up the company’s balance sheet by approving a Hong Kong stock offering,
according to transcripts of Ping An meetings and interviews with
participants.
平安的会议记录以及对出席者的采访显示,马明哲和这些监管者见了面,称自己的公司临近破产,希望他们能够批准该公司在香港发行股票,从而改善该公司的资产负债表。
“Now, Ping An’s life insurance is
in a loss, and property insurance and the trust company have thin
margins,” Mr. Ma wrote in the Sept. 29, 1999, letter to Mr. Wen. The
contents were confirmed by two former top Ping An executives.
“目前,平安的寿险亏损,产险和信托微有盈利,”马明哲在1999年9月29日写给温家宝的信中说道。平安两名前任高管证实了这封信的内容。
Rather than an out-and-out
breakup, Mr. Ma offered a middle road. After seeking advice of other
investors, Mr. Ma proposed the formation of a holding company that would
effectively separate life insurance from property but keep them under
one corporate umbrella, along with the securities and trust division.
在不进行彻底拆分的情况下,马明哲提出了一条折衷之道。他在征求了其他投资者的意见之后,提议成立一家控股公司,实际上分开人寿保险和财产保险业务,但同时又将这两个部门,以及证券和信托部门,置于同一家公司旗下。
The company, he said, would
re-establish itself as the Ping An Group, according to Ping An documents
reviewed by The Times. He then began looking for allies to promote his
proposal.
他说,这个公司将重组为平安集团,《纽约时报》查看过的平安文件显示。之后,他就开始为自己的提议寻找支持者。
In January 2000, with Mr. Ma’s
backing, executives from Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs wrote a joint
letter to Mr. Wen arguing that a breakup would “violate China’s policy
to encourage and protect foreign investment,” according to a copy of the
letter reviewed by The Times. The letter’s authenticity was verified by
former executives at the two investment banks.
2000年1月,在马明哲的支持下,摩根士丹利和高盛的高管们联名给温家宝写信称,拆分将“违反中国鼓励并保护外国投资的政策”,《纽约时报》查阅的该信函的副本显示。这封信的真实性已经由这两家投资银行的前任高管证实。
The American investment banks
warned that “as a listed company in the U.S., we could be required to
disclose our losses relating to the investment in Ping An, which would
not be helpful for the image of China’s policy of reform and opening to
the outside.”
上述美国投资银行警告说,“作为美国上市公司,我们可能需要披露与投资平安相关的损失。这对于向外界展示中国改革开放政策的形象,并没有帮助。”
The letter came after months of
aggressive lobbying on the part of Ping An executives and the two
American banks to persuade other high-ranking officials in Beijing,
including the central bank and the insurance regulator, to hold Ping An
together, according to corporate documents reviewed by The Times.
《纽约时报》查阅到的公司文件显示,这封信发出之前,平安高管以及两家美国投资银行已经进行了数月的积极游说,劝说北京的其他高层官员,包括中央银行和保险监管部门,让平安保持完整。
As early as 1999, executives at Ping An also began making contact with the relatives of Mr. Wen.
早在1999年,平安高管也已经开始与温家宝的家人进行接触。
Hu Kun, a former Ping An employee
who served as Mr. Ma’s staff assistant from 1997 to 2000, recalled a
1999 meeting between Mr. Ma and Zhang Beili, the wife of Mr. Wen.
前平安员工胡坤曾在1997年至2000年之间担任马明哲的助理。胡坤回顾了马明哲与温家宝的妻子张蓓莉1999年的一次会面。
Mr. Hu said he was not told what
transpired at the meeting, but he recalled his boss’s reaction. “Because
of that meeting, Chairman Ma got very excited,” said Mr. Hu, who is now
living in the United States and who has quarreled with Ping An over
52,000 shares he claimed he was owed.
胡坤表示,他没有被告知会面时发生了什么,但他记得马明哲的反应。胡坤说,“因为那次会面,马董事长很激动。”胡坤现在居住在美国,他声称,平安欠自己5.2万股股票,并曾因此与平安产生了纠纷。
Corporate records reviewed by The
Times indicate that Mr. Ma held an afternoon meeting and then dinner
with the prime minister’s wife and Li Chunyan, who ran Ping An’s office
in Beijing, on June 17, 1999.
《纽约时报》查阅的公司记录显示,1999年6月17日下午,马明哲与温家宝的妻子,以及时任平安驻北京代表处主任的李春彦会面,随后还共进晚餐。
It is not known what they
discussed, but the relationship seemed to flourish. Around the same
time, a diamond company partly controlled by the relatives of Ms. Zhang
began occupying office space at the Ping An office tower in Beijing,
according to records the diamond company filed with regulators. Later, a
start-up co-founded by Wen Yunsong, the son of Ms. Zhang and the prime
minister, won a lucrative technology contract from Ping An, according to
interviews with former Ping An executives.
席间谈话的内容不为外界所知,但双方的关系似乎开始蓬勃发展。大约在同
一时期,由张蓓莉的亲戚部分控制的钻石公司,开始在平安位于北京的办公大楼占据办公空间,该钻石公司向监管部门提交的文件显示。几位平安前高管在接受采访
时透露,之后,温家宝之子温云松与人共同建立的创业企业,从平安赢得了利润丰厚的科技合同。
Mr. Ma, who is 56 and still runs
Ping An, declined to comment for this article. Interviews with four
senior executives who worked with Mr. Ma and Mr. Hu at the corporate
headquarters in Shenzhen during the same period corroborate Mr. Hu’s
recollections and the content of the documents reviewed by The Times
concerning Ping An’s lobbying efforts and meetings with the relatives of
Mr. Wen.
现年56岁的马明哲仍然控制着平安集团,他拒绝对本文发表评论。胡坤的回忆,及《纽约时报》查阅的相关文件中关于平安的游说努力,以及与温家宝亲属会面的情节,通过对四名曾在同一段时间,在该公司深圳总部与马明哲和胡坤共事的高管进行采访得到了印证。
In addition, Li Chunyan, who ran
the Beijing office, confirmed in a telephone interview that during that
period he had brought Ms. Zhang to meet the Ping An chairman, Mr. Ma.
此外,当时负责北京代表处的李春彦在接受电话采访时也确认,在那段时间,他曾带张蓓莉与平安董事长马明哲会面。
The documents and interviews shed
no light on whether those meetings played a role in the decision by
government regulators to abandon plans to split up Ping An. But in April
2002, the nation’s top regulators delivered their verdict. With
approval of the State Council and insurance regulators, Ping An began
the process of transforming itself into a financial conglomerate.
但文件和采访并没有揭示,几次会面,是否对政府监管部门放弃拆分平安的决定产生了影响。不过在2002年4月,中国的最高监管部门作出了决定。经过国务院及保险监管部门的批准,平安开始了将自己转变为一家金融集团的过程。
The company was not only allowed
to retain property and life insurance licenses, but also licenses that
permitted it to operate a brokerage and a trust company. It was also
allowed to obtain a bank license.
该公司不仅获准保留财产保险和人寿保险的牌照,还获准保留经营证券公司和信托公司的牌照。平安还获准取得了一张银行牌照。
Together, analysts say, the licenses were worth a fortune in China’s tightly regulated marketplace.
分析人士称,在中国受到严格管制的市场上,这些牌照价值连城。
“They were one of the few who got
to enjoy these gold-digging benefits,” said Bob Leung, a longtime
insurance analyst at UBS in Hong Kong.
瑞银(UBS)长期关注保险行业的驻香港分析师梁智勤(Bob Leung)说,“享受到了挖掘金矿一般的高回报的人少之又少,他们就是其中之一。”
By late 2002, Ping An had not
simply survived the downturn, its prospects had begun to look bright.
The company’s restructuring bolstered revenue and profits. In October of
that year, one of the world’s biggest banks, HSBC, agreed to pay $600
million to acquire a 10 percent stake in the company from Ping An. Just
over a year later, regulators approved the company’s application to list
and sell shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
2002年底,平安不仅安然渡过了下滑趋势,还呈现了光明的前景。公司的重组促进了收入和利润的增长。当年10月,全世界最大的银行之一汇丰银行同意支付6亿美元,从平安购买10%的股份。仅仅一年多以后,监管部门就批准该公司在香港交易所上市销售股票。
While Ping An was preparing for
its listing in Hong Kong, a group of investors with close ties to senior
officials in Beijing, including Wen Jiabao, were quietly accumulating
large blocks of Ping An stock.
在平安筹备赴香港上市时,一群与包括温家宝在内的北京高层官员有紧密联系的投资者,正在静悄悄地大量囤积平安股份。
Buying Into Ping An
买进平安
On Dec. 26, 2002, Ping An filings
show, a company run by Duan Weihong, a Wen family friend from the prime
minister’s hometown, acquired Ping An stock through a company called
Taihong. Soon after, the relatives of Mr. Wen and colleagues of his wife
took control of that investment vehicle, the records show.
平安披露的信息显示,2002年12月26日,来自总理故乡的温家好友段伟红经营的一家公司,通过一家名为泰鸿的企业购入平安股份。记录显示,之后不久,温家宝的亲戚,及其妻子的同事控制了这个投资工具。
According to documents Ping An
filed ahead of its Hong Kong listing, Taihong acquired 77.7 million
shares of Ping An from the China Ocean Shipping Company, a global
shipping giant known as Cosco, and 2.2 million more shares from Cosco’s
Dalian subsidiary. A two-for-one stock split doubled the number of
shares Taihong owned. So in June 2004, just before Ping An’s Hong Kong
offering, Taihong held 159.8 million shares, or about 3.2 percent of
Ping An’s stock, according to public filings.
根据平安在香港上市前提供的文件,泰鸿先是从全球运输巨头中国远洋运输
(集团)总公司(简称为“中远”)手中购买了7770万股平安股份,后来又从中远的大连分支机构购入220万股。股份一拆二之后,泰鸿拥有的股份数量翻
番。因此,根据公开披露的文件,2004年6月,即平安在香港上市前夕,泰鸿持有1.598亿股平安股份,约占总股份的3.2%。
In an interview, Ms. Duan said
she had paid about 40 cents a share at current exchange rates, or a
total of $65 million, to acquire the shares.
在一次采访中,段伟红称,为了购买这些股份,她每股花费了约40美分(按照当前的汇率),共计6500万美元。
The price seems to have been a
huge and unusual discount, analysts say, since HSBC had two months
earlier acquired its 10 percent stake for about $1.60 a share, according
to public filings.
分析人士称,这一价格似乎享受了非同寻常的大折扣,因为根据公开披露的文件,在这之前的两个月,汇丰购买了平安10%的股份,每股约1.6美元。
Cosco did not return calls seeking comment.
中远没有回复置评请求。
For Taihong, it was a blockbuster
purchase. By 2007, when the price of Ping An’s stock peaked, the 159
million shares were valued at $3.7 billion — though by 2007 Taihong had
already significantly reduced its stake, according to public filings.
对泰鸿而言,这笔买卖大获成功。2007年,平安股价达到峰值,这1.59亿股的估值为37亿美元。不过,根据公开披露的文件,泰鸿已于2007年前大幅降低了持股额。
While Taihong was the shareholder
of record, the beneficiaries of the Ping An deal were cloaked behind
more than a dozen investment vehicles controlled by the relatives of Mr.
Wen, including two brothers-in-law, a sister-in-law, as well as several
longtime colleagues and business partners of his wife, Zhang Beili,
according to corporate and regulatory documents. All of them were
listed, along with Ms. Duan, as the owners of Taihong.
根据公司和监管文件,尽管泰鸿是名义上的股东,但是平安这比交易的受益人隐藏在温家宝的亲属控制的十几个投资工具之后,包括他的一个弟媳、他妻子张蓓莉的两名兄弟,以及她的数个长期同事和生意伙伴。所有这些人都与段伟红一起,列为泰鸿的持有人。
And by 2007, the prime minister’s
mother, who is now 91, was listed on public documents as holding $120
million worth of Ping An stock through a pair of investment companies
linked to Taihong.
根据公开文件,到2007年,温家宝总理现年91岁的母亲,通过与泰鸿相关的两家投资公司,持有价值1.2亿美元的平安股票。
Ms. Duan, who says she got to
know the prime minister’s family in 2000, said that she bought the Ping
An shares for her own personal account. The Wen relatives only appear in
the Taihong shareholding records, she said, because her company
borrowed the government-issued identity cards of other people —
mistakenly, she said, from relatives of the prime minister — to help
mask her own Ping An stake from the public.
段伟红称,她从2000年开始认识温家宝的家人,但这些平安股份都是为她个人的账户购买的。她说,温家宝的亲属之所以出现在泰鸿的持股记录里,仅仅是因为她的公司借用了他人由政府颁发的身份证,以便向公众掩盖她自己持有的平安股份。她称,总理亲属的身份证是错误借用的。
“In the end,” Ms. Duan said, “I received 100 percent of the returns.”
段伟红说,“最后的收益,100%都归我所有。”
The Fallout
余波
In 2001, China issued new
regulations that put restrictions on trading in listed shares by
Communist Party members and their families.
2001年,中国颁布了新的法规,限制共产党员及其家庭成员进行股票交易。
For instance, the rules barred
party officials in charge of a state-owned company from using their
parents, children — or even their children’s spouse’s relatives — to
trade stocks of a listed state-owned company.
比方说,法规禁止负责国有企业的共产党官员利用亲属来买卖上市国有企业的股票。这些亲属包括父母、子女,甚至还包括子女配偶的亲属。
The Times found no indication that Mr. Wen shared inside information with family members.
《纽约时报》没有发现温家宝与家庭成员分享内幕信息的迹象。
But there are many unanswered
questions about the relatives’ holdings, analysts consulted by The Times
said, like who might have known about the relatives’ purchases and
whether anyone had a legal obligation to disclose that information.
但是,《纽约时报》咨询的分析人士称,关于这些亲属持有的股份,有很多有待解答的问题,比如,谁可能知晓这些亲属购买了股票,以及是否有人应当承担披露这些信息的法律义务。
Executives at Morgan Stanley and
Goldman Sachs say they were unaware of the share purchases and were not
involved in the transactions.
摩根士丹利和高盛的高管称,他们既不知道这些股份买卖活动,也没有参与到交易中。
The companies also said that a
typical I.P.O. process is unlikely to uncover the ultimate identity of
shareholders who are hiding behind layers of investment vehicles using
unrecognizable names.
这两家公司还称,典型的首次公开发行(IPO)程序中,不太可能发现隐藏在多重投资工具背后、采用陌生姓名的股东的真正身份。
According to regulations in Hong
Kong and China, publicly listed companies and their professional
partners who help sell shares to the public are legally obligated to
disclose the identities of only those shareholders controlling a stake
larger than 5 percent. The Times found that at its peak, Taihong, the
investment vehicle tied to the Wen family, never held more than a 3.2
percent stake.
根据香港和中国内地的监管法规,公开上市的公司及帮助其承销股票的专业服务伙伴,有法律义务披露持股比例超过5%的股东的身份。《纽约时报》发现,即便是在持股最多的时候,温家宝家人的投资工具泰鸿所持有的股份比例也从未超过3.2%。
Another question that remains
unanswered is how Taihong was able to buy shares of Ping An at a price
that appears to have been highly discounted. By late 2002, Ping An had
already become a hot I.P.O. prospect following a big investment by HSBC.
另一个有待解答的问题是,泰鸿如何能够以似乎极其优惠的价格购买平安的股份。到2002年底,随着汇丰的一大笔投资,平安的IPO前景已经极度看好。
The answers to some of the
questions, legal experts say, may turn on who was involved in brokering
the deal that led to the relatives’ acquiring shares in Ping An in the
period before the company’s public offering in 2004, and whether the
deal-makers were seeking to gain favors from the regulators.
法律专家称,一些问题的答案可能在于,在平安2004年上市之前,谁作为中间人促成了这些亲属购买该公司的股份,以及这些撮合交易的人是否试图从监管机构得到好处。
“The key questions are: why were
these people chosen, and on what terms did they get the shares?” said
Jerome A. Cohen, a professor at New York University Law School and an
expert on China’s legal system. “Obviously, everyone would like to get
in before a hot I.P.O.”
纽约大学法学院(New York University Law
School)教授、中国司法系统专家孔杰荣(Jerome A.
Cohen)说,“关键问题是,为什么选中了这些人,以及他们获得这些股份的条件是什么?很显然,每个人都想在一桩热门IPO进行之前参与其中。”
沒有留言:
張貼留言