中國投資者認爲 希臘捧着金飯碗討飯

China, which runs Greece’s biggest container terminal, is fretting about its involvement in a country hailed only last year by Premier Li Keqiang as its “gateway to Europe”.

去年，希臘還被中國總理李克強譽爲中國“通向歐洲的門戶”。如今，作爲希臘最大集裝箱碼頭的運營方，中國已開始對其在希臘的投入感到擔心。

Beijing’s nervousness stems from the rise of a leftist Greek political party that has demonstrated just how quickly its foreign investment strategies can be upended by electoral politics overseas.

中國的不安源於一個希臘左翼政黨的崛起。該黨的崛起展示出，中國對外投資戰略轉瞬之間就能被海外選舉政治顛覆。

“Greece is like a beggar with a golden bowl,” says Yan Jiehe, a Chinese construction tycoon who recently toured Greece looking for road contracts. As long as Athens refused to share its golden bowl by offering foreign investors attractive terms, he said, it would fail to attract caPital from companies such as his own privately held China Pacific Construction Group.

“希臘就像一個捧着金飯碗討飯的乞丐，”不久前赴希臘物色築路合同的中國建築業大亨嚴介和表示。他說，只要雅典方面拒絕向外國投資者開出有吸引力的條款、分享它的金飯碗，希臘就無法從企業——比如他私人控股的中國太平洋建設集團(China Pacific Construction Group)——那裏吸引來資本。

In January, Greek officials informed China’s government-owned grid operator that it was poised to win the tender for a 66 per cent stake in the national electricity distributor, Admie, and would shortly receive the contract.

今年1月，希臘官員通知中國國有電網運營商國家電網(State Grid Corp)，該公司有望贏得收購希臘國家電力傳輸運營商Admie 66%股份的競標，並將在不久之後得到合同。

A week later Syriza swept to power in Athens, promising Greek voters that it would oppose EU-mandated reforms and privatisations.

一週後，激進左翼聯盟(Syriza)在希臘選舉中大獲全勝、上臺掌權，許諾希臘選民將抵制歐盟(EU)要求希臘實施的改革和私有化。

According to people familiar with the Admie tender, Greece’s new government first told State Grid Corp it might be willing to proceed with a joint venture structure. But hopes for a compromise deal were dead by the end of February, when Panagiotis Lafazanis, the Greek energy minister, said the privatisation would be halted.

瞭解Admie股權競標的人士表示，希臘新政府先是告訴國家電網，它可能願意推進建立合資企業的架構，但到2月底，當希臘能源部長帕納約蒂斯•拉法贊尼斯(Panagiotis Lafazanis)表示將暫停私有化時，達成一項妥協協議的希望破滅了。

This hardline stance was confirmed on Wednesday night in a long list of terms presented by Syriza to its EU and IMF creditors, as negotiations to avoid a Greek default and possible exit from the eurozone hung in the balance. State Grid did not respond to a request for comment.

本週三晚，這一強硬立場在激進左翼聯盟向歐盟和國際貨幣基金組織(IMF)的債權人開出的一長串條件中得到了確認。各方仍在舉行談判，以避免希臘違約和退出歐元區。國家電網沒有迴應置評請求。

Athens is under pressure from creditors to resume the Admie privatisation process as part of a broader liberalisation of the energy sector. But Mr Lafazanis, described by colleagues as “the one genuine communist in the Syriza government”, refuses to budge.

希臘受到債權人的壓力，要求它重啓Admie私有化進程，最終實現希臘能源業的自由化。但被同事稱爲“激進左翼聯盟政府內唯一真正共產主義者”的拉法贊尼斯拒絕改變立場。

Publicly, China’s foreign ministry says it wants to see a speedy resolution to the crisis “so as to enable the stable development of the EU integration process”. The EU is Beijing’s largest trading partner.

在公開場合，中國外交部表示，希望希臘方面能早日走出危機，“能夠使歐盟一體化進程繼續穩步向前發展”。歐盟是中國最大的貿易伙伴。

Behind closed doors, Chinese officials are nervous. “They call us every day to ask what’s going to happen in Greece,” says one European official.

在私下裏，中國官員很緊張。“他們每天都給我們打電話，詢問希臘將會發生什麼，”一名歐洲官員表示。

Luckily for Beijing, its existing Greek exposure is relatively limited and principally of the concrete and steel variety. While China’s disbursement of its $3.7tn in foreign exchange holdings is a closely held state secret, analysts believe that little if any of this largesse has been invested in Greek bonds.

對中國而言幸運的是，目前其對希臘的投資相對有限，而且主要在基礎設施領域。儘管中國3.7萬億美元外匯儲備的支出情況屬於嚴格保守的國家機密，但分析人士相信，這筆錢即便有投到希臘債券上，肯定也少之又少。

When China’s premier toured Greece last year, Chinese banks agreed to fund energy projects and shipbuilding contracts worth a relatively modest $4.1bn. Greek shipping companies transport about 60 per cent of China’s commodity imports and are the most important clients for Chinese shipyards.

中國總理去年訪問希臘時，中國幾家銀行同意爲一些能源項目和造船合同提供融資，項目和合同的價值總額並不高，也就41億美元。中國大宗商品進口的約60%是由希臘海運企業承運的，這些企業是中國造船廠最重要的客戶。

“Besides infrastructure, what does Greece have that China actually wants?” asks one lawyer who advises Chinese investors in Europe. “They’re not like the Italians, who have great technology and brands.”

“除了基礎設施，希臘還有什麼中國真正想要的東西嗎？”一名爲歐洲的中國投資者提供諮詢的律師問道，“他們不像意大利人，意大利人還有偉大的技術和品牌。”

To date, China’s highest profile Greek investment has been Cosco’s 35-year concession to run two terminals at Piraeus, southeast Europe’s largest port. It was intended as prelude to a bid for Athens’ sale of a 67 per cent stake in OLP, which oversees all of the port’s operations. Last year, throughput at Cosco’s Piraeus terminals increased more than 18 per cent to 3m containers.

迄今爲止中國在希臘最出名的投資，是中遠集團(Cosco)在東南歐最大港口比雷埃夫斯港兩個碼頭的特許經營權，時限爲35年。這項投資是個前奏，大戲是競購雅典方面出售的比雷埃夫斯港務局(OLP) 67%的股份。OLP負責監管比雷埃夫斯港所有業務。去年，中遠比雷埃夫斯港碼頭的吞吐量增長了逾18%，至300萬個集裝箱。

There were threats to halt the larger Piraeus privatisation but Athens ultimately decided to proceed with the sale of a 51 per cent stake. The winner will also have the option of purchasing an additional 16 per cent interest in the port after four years. “We’re committed to getting the Piraeus port sale done within 2015,” said a senior executive at Greece’s privatisation agency.

有人曾揚言要暫停比雷埃夫斯港較大規模的私有化，但雅典方面最終決定推進該港51%股份的出售。競購成功者還可選擇在4年後收購該港另外16%的股份。希臘私有化機構的一名高管說：“我們致力在今年內完成比雷埃夫斯港的出售。”

“Piraeus is an important connection for China into Europe, and Greece’s EU membership gives us important advantages,” says Li Gang, a European specialist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

中國社會科學院歐洲問題專家李罡說：“比雷埃夫斯港是中國進入歐洲的重要橋樑，希臘的歐盟成員國身份將爲我們提供重要的優勢。”

Such optimism is predicated on the assumption that the worst-case scenario for Greece is an exit from the eurozone rather than the EU itself.

這種樂觀建立在一個假設上，即希臘將要發生的最糟糕情況也就是退出歐元區，而不是退出歐盟。

“China has been working hard to break into Greece’s infrastructure sectors and should follow through with its plans,” says Huang Weiping, an economics professor at Renmin University in Beijing. “Greece could have a brighter future if it left the eurozone and depreciated its currency. China would then be even more interested in Greek assets.”

北京中國人民大學經濟學教授黃衛平表示：“中國一直在努力打入希臘的基礎設施領域，而且應當進一步落實其計劃。希臘可以有一個更加光明的未來，如果它離開歐元區、讓本幣貶值的話。屆時，中國會對希臘資產更感興趣。”

“Penury will force Greece to leave the eurozone and embrace privatisation,” adds Mr Yan, the construction tycoon. “Privatisation will then turn its golden begging bowl into a golden hall.”

嚴介和說：“經濟困窘將迫使希臘離開歐元區，擁抱私有化。而私有化將把希臘的黃金討飯碗變成一座金色大廳。”

Additional reporting by Wan Li

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