陸金所IPO因監管原因推遲

Lufax, one of China’s largest peer-to-peer lenders and online wealth managers, has delayed its highly anticipated initial public offering and may push back the listing until next year, several people familiar with the matter said.

幾位知情人士表示，中國最大P2P銀行及網上理財公司之一陸金所(Lufax)推遲了備受期待的首次公開招股(IPO)，其上市或許會推遲至明年。

The delay of the flotation for regulatory reasons will put a damper on Asia’s equity capital markets this year after Ant Financial Services also decided to hold off its listing until, at the earliest, the last quarter of 2018, the FT reported last month.

這一因監管原因而導致的上市推遲將繼螞蟻金服(Ant Financial Services)之後，爲今年的亞洲股權資本市場再次澆上一瓢冷水。此前，據英國《金融時報》上個月報道，螞蟻金服也決定將上市推遲，其上市最早得到2018年最後一季度纔會啓動。

Lufax, which is controlled by Ping An Insurance, was valued at $18.5bn after a round of fundraising in early 2016. Ant, an affiliate of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, was last valued at $60bn. The listing was projected to raise up to $5bn and was one of most followed capital market events of 2017.

陸金所由平安保險(Ping An Insurance)控股，在2016年初的一輪募資後，其估值曾達到185億美元。螞蟻金服則是中國電子商務巨頭阿里巴巴(Alibaba)的一個附屬公司，最後一次估值達到600億美元。陸金所的上市預計要籌集最高50億美元，是2017年資本市場最受關注的活動之一。

Lufax declined to comment.

陸金所拒絕置評。

While the companies never sent official timelines for the listings, the two IPOs, as well as that of Zhong An Online Property and Casualty Insurance, were watched by many bankers hoping for a blockbuster Asian IPO calendar in 2017, following a lacklustre 2016.

儘管上述企業從未發佈官方上市時間表，這兩宗IPO交易以及衆安在線財產保險股份有限公司(Zhong An Online Property and Casualty Insurance)的IPO受到了許多銀行人士的關注，他們希望在2016年的低迷之後，2017年會迎來亞洲IPO的爆發。

Global IPO volume fell 32 per cent in 2016 to $133bn, the lowest activity since 2012, according to Dealogic. Last year’s largest public listing globally was Postal Savings Bank of China’s $7.5bn flotation.

根據Dealogic的數據，2016年全球IPO規模下滑32%至1330億美元，活躍性是2012年以來的最低程度。去年，全球最大規模的公開上市是中國郵政儲蓄銀行(Postal Savings Bank of China)75億美元的上市。

A lack of clarity from regulators on China’s online wealth management industry has held back the Lufax IPO, several people familiar with the company said.

多位熟悉陸金所的人士表示，阻止陸金所上市的，是監管機構對中國網上理財行業模棱兩可的態度。

“For Lufax, the regulation is like a time-bomb,” said one banker familiar with the company’s situation. “Nobody knows what it’s going to do.”

一位熟悉陸金所情況的銀行人士表示：“對陸金所來說，監管就像一枚定時炸彈。沒人知道它會做什麼。”

China’s online finance industry has been hit with a wave of regulatory change this year.

今年，一輪監管變革沉重打擊了中國在線金融行業。

The market has been rocked by billion-dollar scams over the past two years that have prompted ordinary people to take to the streets in protest. More than half of the country’s peer-to-peer lenders, or online platforms that connect lenders and borrowers outside of the banking system, are expected to be pushed out of the market by new rules.

過去兩年的幾起規模數十億美元的騙局震撼了這一市場，令普通人走上街頭舉行抗議。中國逾半數P2P銀行（即在銀行體系外爲借方和貸方建立聯繫的在線平臺）預計會被新規定擠出市場。

One incident in particular has led to increased uncertainty for companies such as Lufax that sell investment products on online platforms.

有一個事件尤其加大了陸金所等在網上平臺銷售投資產品的企業的不確定性。

In December, a Chinese company called Cosun Group defaulted on $45m in high-yield bonds that were sold on one of Ant Financial’s online platforms. Documents used in the distribution of the bonds were later found to be fake.

去年12月，一個名爲僑興集團(Cosun Group)的中國企業發行的4500萬美元高收益債券出現違約，這些債券是在螞蟻金服其中一個網上平臺銷售的。債券發行過程中所用文件後來被發現造假。

While the case presented no systemic financial risk, it led to questions about who takes responsibility for products sold on third-party platforms such as Ant’s. China’s financial watchdogs have grown increasingly sensitive to cases where retail investor cash is at stake, and new rules are expected to lead to increased scrutiny for financial products marketed to retail investors online.

儘管該案並未帶來系統性金融風險，它引發了這樣的質疑：在諸如螞蟻金服這樣的第三方平臺銷售的產品，該由誰來負責。中國金融監管機構對於散戶現金面臨風險的案子越來越敏感，新規定預計會加強對面向網上散戶的金融產品的審覈。

Lufax management was thinking about the impact of the new regulation when it put its IPO on hold, said people close to the group.

與陸金所關係密切的人士表示，陸金所管理層推遲IPO時正在考慮新監管規定的影響。

Ant Financial’s IPO was also put on hold this year because it has yet to receive regulatory approval for the transaction, several people familiar with the deal said last month. To list overseas and take on foreign ownership, Ant would require a waiver from Beijing.

上個月，幾名熟悉螞蟻金服IPO交易的人士表示，螞蟻金服今年也推遲了IPO，是因爲它還未獲得監管機構對該交易的批准。要想在海外上市並由外資持股，螞蟻金服或須獲得北京方面的豁免。

Ant owes its current structure as a Chinese company to the controversial spin-off of its core business, online payment platform Alipay, by founder Jack Ma in 2011.

螞蟻金服之所以會有現在這種中資企業結構，是2011年其創立者馬雲將在線支付平臺支付寶(Alipay)這個核心業務剝離的有爭議行爲導致的。

The move, which triggered a public spat with Yahoo, a big Alibaba shareholder, was necessitated by new Chinese government rules restricting foreign ownership of third-party payment services, which meant Alipay had to change its ownership structure.

這一曾引發與阿里巴巴大股東雅虎(Yahoo)公開爭端的舉措，必要性出自中國政府限制外資持股第三方支付服務的新規定。這一新規定意味着支付寶不得不改變其所有權結構。