Macquarie and Morgan Stanley have sold out of their Chinese trust businesses, raising questions about the viability of the remaining joint-venture partnerships between foreign and domestic institutions in China.

麦格理(Macquarie)和摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)出售了它们的中国信托业务，令人对剩余的中外合资信托企业能否维持下去产生疑问。

Morgan Stanley, the US bank, sold its 19.9 per cent stake in the Hangzhou Industrial & Commercial Trust, which it acquired in 2008, last month.

美资银行摩根士丹利到上月全部卖掉了其在2008年收购的杭州工商信托(Hangzhou Industrial & Commercial Trust)的19.9%的股份。

The divestment followed a similar move by Macquarie, the Australian financial group, which sold its 19.9 per cent stake in the Sino-Australian International Trust in November after entering the business in 2009.

在此之前麦格理也做出了类似的动作，这家澳大利亚金融集团于2015年11月出售了其在2009年收购的华澳国际信托(Sino-Australian International Trust)的19.9%的股份。

Tough new regulations aimed at improving the robustness of Chinese trust companies, which conduct asset management, private equity and lending activities among others, have diminished the appeal of participating in these businesses.

为改善中国信托公司的稳健性而出台的严厉的新监管举措，降低了外资参与这些业务的吸引力。信托公司从事资产管理、私人股本和信贷等业务。

The divestments also follow years of frustration among foreign institutions over their lack of control in these joint ventures, where they were limited to holding a minority stake.

在此前的多年里，外国公司对它们在合资企业中缺乏控制权感到不满——它们只被允许持有少数股权。

Stewart Aldcroft, Asia chief executive of CitiTrust, Citigroup’s securities and fund services business, said: “Very few joint-venture companies have succeeded in China. Most are second tier or lower, [and] have been dominated by the local Chinese partner.

花旗集团(Citigroup)旗下证券与基金服务机构CitiTrust的亚洲首席执行官斯图尔特攠尔德克罗夫特(Stewart Aldcroft)表示：“很少有合资企业在中国取得成功。大多合资企业都处于二流甚至更低位置，（而且）由中方合作伙伴主导。”

“The foreign partner has had very little involvement in the business.”

“外国合资伙伴很少参与业务。”

Barclays, the UK bank, has also reduced its stake in its Chinese joint venture, New China Trust, significantly, from 19.5 per cent to 6 per cent, according to Z-Ben, the Shanghai-based consultancy.

上海哲奔咨询公司(Z-Ben)表示，英国银行巴克莱(Barclays)也将其在中国合资企业新华信托(New China Trust)中的股份从19.5%大幅削减至6%。

Macquarie, Morgan Stanley and Barclays declined to comment.

麦格理、摩根士丹利和巴克莱全都拒绝置评。

The appeal of joint ventures has diminished as foreign institutions no longer need to take a stake in these businesses in order to access onshore investors.

随着外国机构不再需要为了接触中国国内投资者而持有合资企业的股份，合资企业的吸引力下降。

This follows the introduction of rules, such as the mutual fund recognition programme, that have made it easier for foreign institutions to sell products directly to Chinese investors.

此前中国政府出台的基金互认等项目，让外国机构更容易直接向中国投资者销售产品。

Chris Powers, an analyst at Z-Ben, said: “Many [foreign companies] are re-evaluating their approach to mainland China.

哲奔分析师克里斯贠尔斯(Chris Powers)表示：“许多（外国公司）正在重新评估它们对中国内地的投资策略。”

“Foreign partners have never been particularly pleased with their joint ventures, but they stuck with them as they were the only way to access China.

“外国合资伙伴从未对它们的合资企业感到特别满意过，但它们一直坚守，是因为这是它们进入中国的唯一途径。”

“[Now] there are more opportunities to engage with [domestic investors].”

“（现在）有更多的机会（与国内投资者）接触。”

Macquarie and Morgan Stanley’s decision to pull out of these businesses means that just eight foreign joint-venture trusts remain.

麦格理和摩根士丹利退出这些业务的决定意味着，中国还剩下8家中外合资信托公司。

These include the Bridge Trust, which saw US bank JPMorgan buy a small stake in 2012, and the Beijing International Trust, which saw UK asset manager Ashmore buy a 19.9 per cent stake in 2007.

这些公司包括百瑞信托(Bridge Trust)和北京国际信托(Beijing International Trust)，美国的摩根大通在2012年收购了前者的少量股权，而英国资产管理公司安石(Ashmore)在2007年收购了后者19.9%的股份。

Mr Aldcroft believes more companies will pull out of these businesses in 2016. He said: “China is rapidly opening up the many routes to access its stock market [and domestic investors]. With all this, why would a foreign company want to get involved in a joint venture it can’t control?”

奥尔德克罗夫特认为2016年将会有更多的外国公司退出这些业务。他说：“中国正在迅速开放多个进入其股票市场（和接触国内投资者）的渠道。因此，外国公司为何要加入一个它不能控制的合资公司？”