美議員要求嚴審中資收購芝加哥證交所

The proposed takeover of the Chicago Stock Exchange by a group of Chinese investors is stirring controversy in Washington, where lawmakers have urged the Obama administration to submit the deal to a national security review.

一箇中國財團對芝加哥證交所(CSE)發起的擬議收購正在華盛頓引起爭議，一些議員敦促奧巴馬政府對該交易進行國家安全審查。

The buyout, announced earlier this month, would mark the first time a Chinese company took over an American bourse and would give the buyer, Chongqing Casin Enterprise Group, a foothold in the American equities market.

本月早些時候宣佈的這起收購若成功完成，將標誌着一家中國公司首次收購一家美國證交所，將讓買家重慶財信集團(Chongqing Casin Enterprise Group)在美國股市獲得立足點。

Forty-five members of Congress wrote to the US Treasury department in a letter this week urging that the deal be reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, or Cfius, which has the power to block any deal that jeopardises US national security.

45位國會議員本週寫信給美國財政部，敦促該交易接受美國外國投資委員會(Cfius)的審查。美國外國投資委員會有權阻止所有危及美國國家安全的交易。

They said CCEG lacked transparency and raised questions over its ties to the Chinese government.

他們表示，財信集團缺乏透明性，而且可能與中國政府存在關聯。

“The American market has little information about CCEG, and it shares many of the traditional opaque qualities of a Chinese company. Moreover, according to initial reports, CCEG’s financial assets were originally owned by the Chinese government, and the company was created to absorb those state-controlled assets in 1997,” they wrote.

他們寫道：“美國市場對財信集團知之甚少，而且該集團有着中國公司固有的許多不透明特質。此外，初步報告顯示，財信集團的金融資產最初由中國政府所有，而該公司是爲了吸收那些國有資產而在1997年創立的。”

The Chicago Stock Exchange accounts for miniscule amounts of trading relative to rivals such as the New York Stock Exchange, but its acquisition by a Chinese company would be highly symbolic of China’s growing influence overseas.

相對紐約證交所(New York Stock Exchange)等競爭對手而言，芝加哥證交所的交易份額微不足道，但如果它被一家中國公司收購，將明顯象徵中國在海外的影響力日益增長。

In a Republican presidential debate on Saturday, Donald Trump, the party frontrunner for the White House nomination, cited the stock exchange takeover as an example of how America was losing its international competitiveness.

在共和黨於上週六舉行的總統競選辯論中，該黨的總統候選人領跑者唐納德礠朗普(Donald Trump)以芝加哥證交所被收購爲例說明，美國失去了其國際競爭力。

The letter was organised by Robert Pittenger, a Republican member of the House of Representatives from North Carolina, and signed by 44 other Republicans and one Democrat.

上述信函由北卡羅來納州的共和黨衆議員羅伯特皮滕傑(Robert Pittenger)策劃，並由44名共和黨議員和1名民主黨議員聯署。

China’s flourishing appetite for acquiring overseas companies was dealt a sharp setback this week as regulatory fears hit two other potential takeovers.

中國收購海外企業的旺盛胃口本週遭遇嚴重挫折。監管擔憂阻止了兩筆潛在的收購交易。

The US Treasury does not comment on Cfius reviews.

美國財政部不就Cfius的審查置評。