Flush with cash and with an eye on Beijing’s reform agenda, China’s brokers, insurers and asset managers are on the hunt for acquisitions overseas.
资金充裕、关注北京方面改革议程的中国券商、保险公司和资产管理公司，正在海外寻找并购机会。
Mainland companies have been encouraged to look abroad for growth, part of Beijing’s “going out” campaign that has seen Chinese buyers snap up assets spanning natural resources, property and consumer brands.
中国内地企业一直被鼓励去海外寻求增长，这是北京方面“走出去”战略的一部分。在这一战略下，中国买家抢购了自然资源、地产和消费品牌等一系列资产。

While the recent dealmaking fits that trend, analysts and bankers say these Chinese financial groups have a specific endgame — laying the groundwork for a time when mainland investors can invest more freely in international markets.
最近的并购交易情况符合这种趋势，但分析师和银行家表示，这些中国金融集团有一项特殊的艰巨使命——为中国内地投资者能更自由投资国际市场的那一天奠定基础。
“Strategically it’s about getting the footprint and being able to service Chinese money,” said Hong Kong-based Bill Nichol, head of the financial institutions group in Asia Pacific at Deutsche Bank. “This is the vanguard of Chinese capital moving internationally . . . The aim is to build a Chinese-controlled platform for Chinese capital to move offshore.”
驻香港的德意志银行(Deutsche Bank)亚太金融机构集团主管比尔•尼科尔(Bill Nichol)表示：“从战略上来说，这是为了获得立足点和能够服务于中国资金。这是在为中国资本走向国际铺路……其目的是建立一个由中国控制的平台，方便中国资本走向海外。”
To that end, Everbright Securities last month paid $500m for a controlling stake in Sun Hung Kai Financial, a broker previously owned by Hong Kong’s Kwok family. That followed a December agreement by Haitong Securities to buy Banco Espirito Santo de Investimento, a Lisbon-based investment bank, for nearly 500m.
为达到上述目的，光大证券(Everbright Securities)上月斥资5亿美元收购券商新鸿基金融集团(Sun Hung Kai Financial)的控股股权。新鸿基金融集团此前由香港的郭氏家族拥有。去年12月，海通证券(Haitong Securities)签署协议，斥资近5亿欧元收购总部位于里斯本的圣灵投资银行(Banco Espirito Santo de Investimento)。
Anbang Insurance Group has been one of the biggest spenders. It recently bought insurance, banking and asset management businesses in South Korea and Belgium, and more non-bank financial sector deals are expected to follow.
安邦保险集团(Anbang Insurance Group)是近期最大手笔的买家之一。它最近在韩国和比利时收购了保险、银行和资产管理业务，接下来有望达成更多非银行金融业务方面的交易。
Shares of brokers and insurers have soared over the past 12 months, enabling many to raise billions of dollars in fresh capital through share placements. Bankers expect more acquisitions to come, especially in Europe, where financial institutions are suffering from anaemic growth and the debt crisis.
券商和保险公司的股价在过去12个月大幅上涨，让许多公司能够通过配股募集数十亿美元的新资本。银行家预计会出现更多的收购活动，尤其是在欧洲——那里的金融机构正面临增长乏力和债务危机。
Chinese investors currently have limited scope for investing overseas. The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect has provided some rich retail investors access to Hong Kong-listed shares, while the tightly controlled “qualified domestic institutional investor” programme gives financial institutions an avenue to purchase overseas bonds and securities. But use of both schemes has been minimal.
目前，中国投资者投资海外的渠道有限。“沪港通”让一些富裕的散户投资者能够买卖香港上市的股票，受到严格控制的“合格境内机构投资者”(QDII)项目则为金融机构提供了一条购买海外债券和证券的渠道。但这两个项目的使用率都非常低。
There are hopes of a more significant opening later this year with the long-awaited rollout of mutual fund recognition between Hong Kong and China, which would allow foreign asset managers to sell some of their products direct to Chinese investors. Mainland financial institutions want to be ready.
今年晚些时候，中国有望采取更加重要的开放举措，启动外界期待已久的香港和内地基金互认——该项目将允许境外资产管理公司将它们的某些产品直接销售给中国投资者。中国内地金融机构希望为此做好准备。
“We completely embrace internationalisation. As our clients expand abroad, of course we want to be there with them,” said one senior executive at a top-five mainland brokerage.
中国内地排名前五的券商的一名高管表示：“我们完全支持国际化。当我们的客户在海外扩张时，我们当然希望和它们在一起。”
While many outbound Chinese deals have proved troublesome, lessons have been learnt, he added.
他补充称，尽管中国企业在海外达成的许多交易出现了问题，但它们已经吸取了教训。
“We’ve seen the integration problems that a lot of Chinese have when they buy foreign companies. Working together can be a big headache,” said the executive. “Most brokerages are going in cautiously. The approach is, first get the licence, then see how we do. Don’t take too many risks.”
这名高管表示：“我们看到，许多中国人在收购外国公司时出现了整合方面的问题。协同可能是件很令人头疼的事。大多数券商都打算谨慎行事。方法是先搞到牌照，然后再考虑下该怎么做。不要过于冒险。”
However, some in the industry have questioned the logic, price and pace of the recent acquisitions, which have sometimes seemed rushed or haphazard.
然而，该行业的一些人对近期收购交易的逻辑、价格和步伐提出了质疑，这些交易有时显得操之过急或毫无章法。
“They’ve been given a mandate to expand overseas, at any cost,” said the head of equity trading at one investment bank in Hong Kong, who described the recent string of deals as “empire building”.
香港一家投行的股票交易主管表示：“他们获得了不惜一切代价在海外扩张的授权。”该主管称最近的一系列交易是在“打造帝国”。
“Strategically, it’s not clear what they are looking for, except a presence outside China.”
“除了在海外建立立足点，人们看不出他们还有什么战略目标。”