David Cameron has warned that Britain must not “pull up the drawbridge” against foreign investors as Downing Street pushed back against pressure from the opposition Labour party to intervene in Pfizer’s proposed £63bn offer for AstraZeneca.
英国首相戴维•卡梅伦(David Cameron)警告称，英国不能对外国投资者“拉起吊桥”。这是唐宁街对反对党工党压力的回击，工党要求干预辉瑞(Pfizer)以630亿英镑收购阿斯利康(AstraZeneca)的提议。
The prime minister said the UK benefited “massively” from its economic openness and insisted the government was making “very good progress” in seeking job assurances from Pfizer even without seeking new powers to formally intervene.
卡梅伦表示，英国“极大地”受益于经济开放性，他坚称英国政府在让辉瑞确保就业方面“进展良好”，无需寻求新的权力进行正式干预。
His comments on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show came as Ian Read, chairman and CEO of the US drugmaker, prepared to fly to London today to be quizzed by lawmakers about his plans for what would be the biggest foreign takeover in UK history.
卡梅伦是在英国广播公司(BBC)的《安德鲁•马尔秀》(Andrew Marr Show)节目上发表上述言论的。辉瑞董事长兼首席执行官伊恩•里德(Ian Read)定于今日飞抵伦敦，接受英国议员对其提出的这宗可能成为英国史上最大外资并购的交易的质询。
Mr Cameron last week left open the possibility of subjecting any deal to a “public interest test” after criticism from the opposition Labour party that he was not doing enough to safeguard Britain’s science base. But his remarks yesterday made clear his desire to avoid doing anything to undermine the UK’s reputation as a welcoming place for foreign investors.
卡梅伦上周没有排除任何交易都需接受“公共利益测试”的可能性，此前工党批评称，他没有做出足够努力来保障英国的科学根基。但他昨日发表的言论明确表明，他渴望避免做出破坏英国欢迎外国投资者声誉的任何事。
Downing Street has struggled to find a consistent stance towards Pfizer as ministers have vacillated between welcoming the mooted deal as a sign of the attractiveness of UK life sciences and tougher rhetoric on the need to protect jobs.
唐宁街迄今竭力拿捏针对辉瑞的一致立场，部长级官员的态度摇摆不定，一会儿欢迎辉瑞提出收购，认为这表明了英国生命科学的吸引力，一会儿又发表比较生硬的言论，称需要保护就业。
Mr Read will attend separate hearings of the parliamentary committees on business and science tomorrow and on Wednesday. According to people close to Pfizer, he will say that his promise made earlier this month to maintain 20 per cent of the two companies’ combined research workforce in Britain for at least five years after any deal is legally binding under UK takeover rules.
里德将于明后两天分别出席英国议会商业委员会和科学委员会的听证会。据接近辉瑞的知情人士表示，里德将会表示，他在本月早些时候做出的承诺，即在交易完成后至少5年内将两家公司20%的研发人员留在英国，根据英国的并购规则是具有法律约束力的。
AstraZeneca has so far refused to enter talks, arguing that the £50-per-share proposal from its US rival significantly undervalues the company.
阿斯利康迄今拒绝展开谈判，辩称辉瑞每股50英镑的出价显著低估了该公司。
AstraZeneca’s future is also raising concern in Sweden, where it has a big presence. The heads of the Karolinska Institutet, a Stockholm university that accounts for almost half of the medical research in Sweden, and chairman of the body behind the Nobel Prizes, told the Financial Times they were worried by Pfizer’s approach.
阿斯利康的未来也引发了瑞典的关切——阿斯利康在瑞典拥有大量业务。卡罗林斯卡学院(Karolinska Institutet)负责人以及诺贝尔评奖委员会的主席都对英国《金融时报》表示，他们对辉瑞的收购提议感到担忧。位于斯德哥尔摩的卡罗林斯卡学院从事着瑞典近一半的医学研究。