英國退歐 科技企業會否退英

Dame Stephanie Shirley, one of Britain’s most inspirational entrepreneurs, has some bracing advice when it comes to Brexit.

英國最富感召力的企業家之一斯蒂芬妮.雪莉夫人(Dame Stephanie Shirley)對於英國退歐有一些令人振奮的建議。

Just get on with it, my friends, she told a tech crowd at Google’s London headquarters last week.

她上週在谷歌(Google)的倫敦總部向一羣科技界人士表示：接受這個現實吧，我的朋友們。

As a child refugee who arrived in Britain in 1939, the founder of a pioneering all-female computer software company in the 1960s, and an active philanthropist to this day,

雪莉夫人在1939年作爲一個兒童難民來到英國，她在上世紀60年代創立了一家開拓性的、員工全爲女性的計算機軟件公司，至今仍積極從事慈善事業。

Dame Stephanie has overcome far bigger challenges than Brexit during her lifetime.

她在一生中克服了比英國退歐大得多的挑戰。

And, for the most part, Britain’s tech community has been following Dame Stephanie’s advice.

在大多數情況下，英國的科技界確實遵循了雪莉夫人的建議。

After the UK’s Europe referendum result, which few in the industry expected or welcomed, tech entrepreneurs have been trying to make the best of it.

在英國退歐公投之後（科技界沒什麼人預料到或者歡迎公投結果），科技企業家們一直試圖隨遇而安。

Those who love nothing better than talking about how to inflict disruption on others are learning to embrace a little of it themselves.

這些平素最喜歡談論給別人帶去顛覆的人們，現在自己也在學着擁抱一些顛覆性影響。

Some ominous clouds, though, are massing on the horizon.

然而，一些不祥的烏雲正出現在地平線上。

There was a sharp slowdown of start-up financing in the UK in the third quarter, although that was matched elsewhere in Europe.

英國第三季度初創企業融資急劇放緩，儘管歐洲其他地區同樣如此。

Rival European tech centres, from Lisbon to Berlin, have been actively targeting restless UK businesses.

從里斯本到柏林，與倫敦競爭的歐洲科技中心積極吸引心神不寧的英國企業。

Many entrepreneurs in Britain tell tales of foreign employees returning home while new foreign recruits (and their families) have been reluctant to move to the UK.

英國許多企業家談到外國僱員回家的現象，同時近期新招的外國員工（以及他們的家人）不願搬到英國來。

But a string of recent announcements has shown that the UK remains a strong magnet for tech companies, especially after the weakening pound has reduced the comparative cost of employing engineers in Britain.

但最近一系列宣佈表明，英國依然對科技公司有着強大吸引力，尤其是在英鎊貶值降低了在英國僱傭工程技術人員的比較成本之後。

Last week, Google said it would almost double its employees in London to 7,000 over the next few years, citing Britain’s pool of talented computer scientists, world-class educational institutions, and passion for innovation.

上週谷歌表示，將在今後幾年將倫敦僱員人數增加近一倍，至7000人，理由是英國雲集了才華橫溢的計算機科學家、世界級教育機構，而且洋溢着創新激情。

Facebook quickly followed, saying it would add 500 jobs.

Facebook迅速跟進，表示將增加500個就業崗位。

Japan’s SoftBank, which recently acquired Britain’s chip design company Arm Holdings for $32bn, has promised to run its $100bn global tech investment fund out of London.

日本的軟銀(SoftBank)承諾將在倫敦運營其1000億美元的全球科技投資基金。它最近以320億美元收購了英國芯片設計公司ARM控股(Arm Holdings)。

Sir James Dyson, who backed Brexit, is investing in helping to educate a new generation of engineers.

支持英國退歐的詹姆斯.戴森爵士(Sir James Dyson)正投資幫助培訓新一代的工程師。

The Chinese private equity firm CSC Group is teaming up with Founders Factory, a London incubator, to back artificial intelligence start-ups in the UK.

中國私人股本公司中科招商(CSC Group)與倫敦孵化器Founders Factory合作，支持英國的人工智能初創企業。

These investments are a shot in the arm for digital Britain, but three issues remain critical for its long-term health: migration, education, and regulation.

這些投資對英國數字行業來說不亞於一劑強心針，但該行業的長期健康仍取決於三個關鍵因素：移民、教育和監管。

Many tech businesses in Britain are heavily dependent on the creativity of foreign employees.

英國的許多科技企業嚴重依賴海外僱員的創造力。

London has to remain a place where ideas can come to have promiscuous sex, as one investor puts it.

正如一位投資者所言：倫敦將不得不依然是一個讓創意能夠自由交融的地方。

Britain’s universities, which underpin the tech sector, are similarly reliant on foreign researchers and students.

作爲科技行業的後盾，英國大學同樣依賴外國研究人員和學生。

They are seeking to reassure staff over the future loss of EU research funding and the openness of the UK.

它們正設法就未來失去歐盟研究經費和英國的開放程度安撫員工。

Theresa May appears to have heard those concerns.

特里薩.梅(Theresa May)似乎聽到了這些擔憂。

The prime minister is increasing spending on research and development, and promises to make Britain the global go-to place for scientists, innovators and tech investors.

英國首相增加了研發支出，並承諾讓英國成爲科學家、創新者和科技投資者的全球首選目的地。

The previous coalition government certainly made a great play for global tech investors by adopting one of the most responsive regulatory environments in areas such as driverless cars, commercial drones, and fintech.

上屆聯合政府在無人駕駛汽車、商用無人機以及金融科技等領域營造了反應最靈敏的監管環境之一，必定給全球科技投資者留下了深刻印象。

Although some may worry about the risk of crashes, both physical and metaphorical, regulatory flexibility appears vital for continued investment.

儘管一些人可能擔心崩盤風險（包括物理碰撞和市場暴跌兩方面的涵義），但監管靈活性似乎對持續投資至關重要。

For example, Amazon is basing much of its commercial drones business in the UK largely because of the company’s positive dialogue with local regulators.

例如，亞馬遜(Amazon)將商用無人機業務的很大一部分放在英國，很大程度上是因爲該公司能夠與當地監管機構展開積極對話。

Brent Hoberman, chairman of Founders Factory, says the UK tech industry’s mood is based on the assumption of a soft Brexit.

Founders Factory董事長布倫特.霍伯曼(Brent Hoberman)表示，英國科技行業的情緒建立在英國軟退歐假設的基礎之上。

The tech community is full of entrepreneurial optimists, he says.

他說：科技界充斥着具有創業精神的樂觀主義者。

People have the belief that somehow we are not going to commit economic suicide in the UK.

人們相信，英國怎麼都不會幹出經濟自殺的蠢事。

The manner of Brexit therefore matters enormously.

因此，英國退歐方式至關重要。

But it is far from clear how the government can square popular demands to cut immigration with the tech industry’s needs to remain open to the world.

但目前遠未清楚的是，英國政府如何既能順應民意減少移民，又能滿足科技行業的需求，保持對世界的開放。

So far, only a trickle of UK businesses has left following the Brexit vote.

迄今爲止，只有一小部分英國企業在英國退歐公投之後離開。

But Mr Hoberman predicts the trickle will become a flood if that free flow of people comes to an end.

但霍伯曼預計，若人員自由流動被切斷，涓涓細流會變成洪流。

It is worth watching what happens to Britain’s digital start-ups given they are among the businesses most connected to the rest of the world — as well as being the most mobile.

值得觀察英國數字初創企業的去向，因爲它們屬於與其他國家聯繫最爲緊密的企業，也是最具流動性的。

Where they go, the British economy is likely to follow.

它們的出走將是英國經濟的損失。