馬雲擬入股財新 擴大媒體版圖

Jack Ma, the billionaire founder of Chinese ecommerce group Alibaba, is poised to expand his media holdings as his online finance company eyes a stake in Caixin, the business magazine.

中國電子商務集團阿里巴巴(Alibaba)的億萬富翁創始人馬雲(Jack Ma)正準備擴大他的媒體版圖，他旗下的在線金融公司正考慮入股財經雜誌——財新傳媒。

Two people close to Caixin said discussions were under way for Ant Financial, the payments, banking and asset management affiliate of US-listed Alibaba, to buy an undisclosed holding.

據兩名接近財新的人士透露，螞蟻金服(Ant Financial)——在美國上市的阿里巴巴的支付、銀行業務和資產管理附屬公司——正在談判入股事宜，具體股份比例不詳。

If successful it would be the second recent media investment by Mr Ma’s companies, following Alibaba’s December purchase of South China Morning Post for $266m.

如果成功的話，這將是馬雲旗下的公司近期第二筆媒體投資，此前阿里巴巴在去年12月斥資2.66億美元收購了《南華早報》(SCMP)。

Caixin said yesterday it was poised to complete talks with a group of unnamed investors. The stake sale would not interfere with its independence, it added.

財新傳媒昨日表示，即將與一羣名稱不詳的投資者完成談判。它補充說，出售股權不會影響它的獨立性。

“The new stakeholders will respect Caixin’s editorial independence, as our past stakeholders have done, and accept our internal firewall and compliance management arrangements, which will safeguard our credibility.”

“新的投資者與原有股東一樣，尊重財新傳媒不受股東商業利益左右的編輯獨立原則，也認可內部防火牆、合規管理等制度安排，以保障財新傳媒的公信力。”

Caixin said a funding round in 2012 — when Tencent, a rival of Alibaba’s, and China Media Capital, a Shanghai-based fund, took stakes — had not affected its commitment to objectivity.

財新傳媒指出，2012年進行的一輪融資——當時阿里巴巴的競爭對手騰訊(Tencent)和總部位於上海的華人文化產業投資基金(China Media Capital)購得股份——並沒有影響其對客觀性的承諾。

According to a person close to the talks, Alibaba has been given a seat on Caixin’s board. Ant Financial declined to comment.

接近談判的一名人士透露，阿里巴巴已獲得財新傳媒董事會的一個席位。螞蟻金服不予置評。

The investment is likely to be scrutinised for any hint that Mr Ma, who has majority control of Ant Financial, is trying to buy influence or offer political favours for the Chinese government.

這筆投資很可能會受到密切關注，看有沒有任何跡象表明：擁有螞蟻金服多數控制權的馬雲，正試圖爲中國政府購買影響力或者在政治上出力。

In last year’s purchase of South China Morning Post, Alibaba was accused of seeking to interfere editorially after Joe Tsai, its executive vice-chairman, said the newspaper could be an alternative to western coverage of China, which he described as negative and biased.

在去年收購《南華早報》時，阿里巴巴被指試圖干涉編審獨立，原因是其執行副主席蔡崇信(Joe Tsai)表示，該報可能成爲他所稱的西方媒體對中國負面和偏見報道的替代品。

Caixin’s fierce independence is attributed to Hu Shuli, its chief editor and one of China’s most respected journalists, who founded the magazine in 1998. In 2011 she had an online argument with Mr Ma after he was accused of breaching corporate governance rules.

財新傳媒對獨立性的堅決維護歸功於其總編輯胡舒立，她是中國最受尊敬的新聞工作者之一，在1998年創辦《財經》雜誌。2011年，她曾在網上與馬雲展開爭論，此前馬雲被指違反公司治理規則。

Alibaba and its affiliates have moved aggressively into the media sector. Alibaba is also an investor in Watching, a news website launched last March, and Seec Media . It co-owns iTianxia Web-Commerce, a trade publication focused on online retail.

阿里巴巴及其附屬公司近來大舉進軍媒體行業。阿里巴巴還是去年3月開通的新聞網站“無界新聞”(Watching)、以及財訊傳媒(Seec Media)的投資者。該集團還部分擁有聚焦網上零售的行業刊物《iTianxia WebCommerce》。

Ant Financial is being prepared for an initial public offering in China, though the company refuses to say when.

螞蟻金服正準備在中國進行首次公開發行(IPO)，但該公司拒絕透露具體日程。