The billionaire founder of LeEco, one of China’s hottest technology groups, has told employees that his company has burnt through cash too quickly as it expanded into businesses ranging from movie production to driverless cars.

中国最热门的科技企业之一乐视集团(LeEco)身家亿万的创始人贾跃亭向员工表示，乐视在向从电影制作到无人驾驶汽车等各种业务扩张的过程中，烧钱的速度过快。

The company had been seen as a leading example of a Chinese technology company poised to profit from the rebalancing of the country’s economy away from heavy industry towards consumption and services.

乐视曾被视为准备从中国经济再平衡（即摆脱对重工业的依赖，转而侧重消费和服务业）中获利的中国科技企业的典范之一。

But problems with its strategy were laid bare in a letter from Jia Yueting, founder and chief executive, which raised doubts about the pursuit of market share growth — a path that many Chinese technology companies have followed.

然而，乐视创始人兼首席执行官贾跃亭发出的一封信，却揭示了该公司的战略存在的一些问题。这封信对乐视执着于市场份额的增长提出了质疑——许多中国科技企业走的都是这样的发展路线。

“There is a problem with non-listed LeEco’s growth pace and organisational capacities,” Mr Jia wrote. “Our funding and resources are extremely limited. Our early-stage investment in Leshi auto has been enormous, with continuous spending of more than Rmb10bn.”

“LeEco战略实现节奏过快，组织与资金面临极大挑战，”贾跃亭写道，“相对应的是我们的资金和资源其实非常有限。一方面乐视汽车前期投入巨大，陆续花掉100多亿的自有资金。”

Mr Jia, whose estimated net worth of $6.2bn placed him 31st on the latest Hurun Rich List for China, said he would accept a nominal salary of Rmb1 for life. Shares in Shenzhen-listed Leshi Internet Information & Technology Corp, which Mr Jia also controls, have fallen 14 per cent since last Friday amid rumours that the company was unable to pay Rmb10bn owed to a supplier. The company has denied the rumours.

贾跃亭的财富净值估计为62亿美元，在最新的《胡润中国百富榜》(Hurun China Rich List)上排名第31位。他表示，他自愿永远只领取公司1元人民币的名义年薪。有传闻称，乐视未能支付欠供应商的100亿元人民币。受此传闻影响，贾跃亭控股、在深圳上市的乐视网(Leshi Internet Information & Technology Corp)的股价自上周五以来下跌了14%。乐视方面已否认了上述传闻。

Mr Jia’s empire began as a Netflix-style streaming video platform, but he has spent lavishly over the past two years to expand into far-flung business lines. LeEco symbolises the company’s ambitions to develop an integrated ecosystem of devices and services.

贾跃亭的帝国始于一个Netflix式的流媒体视频直播平台，但他在过去两年里斥重金向五花八门的业务线扩张。LeEco这一标识，象征着该公司立志打造一个集设备与服务于一体的生态系统。

In October, LeEco revealed a self-driving car in San Francisco. The company is spending $1.8bn on an electric-car plant in east China’s Zhejiang province and is also a primary backer of Faraday Future, which is building a separate electric car factory in the suburbs of Las Vegas.

今年10月，乐视在旧金山发布了一款自动驾驶汽车。该公司正斥资18亿美元，在浙江省建设一座电动汽车制造厂。此外，该公司还是法拉第未来(Faraday Future)的主要投资方之一，法拉第未来正在美国拉斯维加斯郊外建设另一座电动汽车制造厂。

In February, LeEco agreed with Aston Martin a joint venture to build an electric vehicle. The two companies previously struck a deal for LeEco to provide in-car entertainment systems.

今年2月，乐视与阿斯顿.马丁(Aston Martin)达成协议，建立一家合资企业制造一款电动汽车。两家公司之前还曾达成协议，由乐视提供车载娱乐系统。

LeEco spent $2bn in July to acquire US television manufacturer Vizio. And last month LeEco raised its stake in Chinese smartphone producer Coolpad, becoming the company’s largest shareholder. In the past month, the group has also revealed a new smartphone, smart TV, virtual reality headset and “super bike” with an Android-enabled touchscreen.

今年7月，乐视斥资20亿美元收购美国电视机制造商Vizio。上月，乐视增持了中国智能手机制造商酷派(Coolpad)的股份，成为该公司最大股东。乐视在过去一个月里还发布了新的智能手机、智能电视、虚拟现实头盔及配备可使用Android系统的触摸屏的“超级自行车”。

But analysts say LeEco sells high-performance hardware below cost in an attempt to hook users into its value-added services, a risky strategy that has also caused problems for Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi. Leshi has also spent heavily on content licensing fees for its internet TV platform.

不过，分析师表示，为了吸引用户使用其增值服务，乐视在以低于成本的价格销售高性能的硬件，这是一种高风险的战略，这种战略也为中国智能手机制造商小米(Xiaomi)带来了麻烦。此外，乐视还在其互联网电视平台的内容许可费上花了大量的钱。

Le Vision Pictures, the group’s movie production arm, is in production on The Great Wall, directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Matt Damon, in what has been billed as the largest joint Sino-US film co-production.

乐视旗下的电影制作公司乐视影业(Le Vision Pictures)，正在制作由张艺谋执导、由马特.达蒙(Matt Damon)主演的《长城》(The Great Wall)，该片被宣传为最大手笔的中美合拍影片。

Last year LeEco invested $700m in Yidao Yongche, a car-hailing app with a niche in the Chinese market dominated by the Alibaba and Tencent-backed Didi Chuxing.

去年，乐视对易到用车(Yidao Yongche)投资7亿美元。易到用车是一款叫车应用，在由阿里巴巴(Alibaba)和腾讯(Tencent)投资的滴滴出行(Didi Chuxing)主导的中国叫车市场，易到用车占据了一块利基市场。

“They have a reputation for splashing cash around. There has been a sense of lack of strategy to what they’re doing,” said Duncan Clark, chairman of BDA China, a technology consultancy. “Fast cars and entertainment — it’s a tough mix.”

科技咨询公司博达克(BDA China)的董事长邓肯.克拉克(Duncan Clark)表示：“他们以四处撒钱而闻名。给人的感觉是他们做的事缺乏战略。飞奔的汽车和娱乐，很难捏合到一起。”