普华永道(PwC)5月13日发布的一份调查报告显示，半数的中国金融服务公司预计将在2008年参与并购交易。普华永道预计，中国将继续成为亚洲最活跃的并购市场。

印度的金融公司也相当乐观，其中有34%的公司预计在今年进行并购交易。在亚洲，平均40%的金融服务公司预计在2007年进行并购交易，70%的公司则预计在5年内进行并购。

这些结果凸显了亚洲金融服务业并购市场的活跃程度。相对而言，亚洲金融服务业并未受到信贷紧缩与美欧经济放缓的太大影响。

亚洲国家的经济增长情况也相当不错，金融服务公司受益于活跃的股市交易、不断上升的保费收入及强劲的贷款增长。汤姆森-路透(Thomson Reuters)统计，与去年同期相比，亚洲并购交易额今年迄今仅下降1.9%，至2523亿美元。相比而言，全球这一跌幅为36.9%。

尽管出现信贷紧缩，在接受普华永道调查的281位驻亚洲金融服务业高管当中，约44%的人预计今年亚洲的并购交易额将上升，原因是他们预计潜在卖方会考虑此前可能并不诱人的一些交易。

虽然中国金融服务业的并购活动去年飙升逾50%，但由于大型交易推后及信贷危机导致交易活动放缓，交易总额在第一季度出现下跌。

但普华永道中国金融服务并购业务主管费理斯(Matthew Philips)表示，交易活动抬头的现象目前颇为明显。他表示：“我们计划中的交易规模比去年要大。”

在中国，本土企业来自于股票发行的资本所得常常颇为丰厚，随着它们变得更加具有收购欲望，它们占据了去年金融服务交易前10位中的8个席位，较2006年上升60%。

普华永道表示，在亚洲并购市场仍然强劲之时，西方企业正在勒紧腰带，亚洲地区的企业将在未来的交易中扮演更大的角色。

上月，马来西亚最大的金融服务公司马来亚银行(Malayan Banking)击败中国银行(BoC)、汇丰(HSBC)及韩国国民银行(Kookmin Bank)，收购了印尼国际银行(Bank Internasional Indonesia)的多数股权。费理斯表示，如果不是信贷危机，西方公司可能会在这次拍卖中胜出。

另一个趋势表明，逾80%的受访者预计主权财富基金将增加对亚洲金融服务业的投资。

译者/石水

Half of Chinese financial services companies expect to take part in mergers and acquisitions in 2008, according to a survey published on the 13 May by PwC, which expects China to remain the most active M&A market in Asia.

Indian financial firms are also optimistic, with 34 per cent expecting to do deals this year. On average, 40 per cent of financial services companies in Asia expect to undertake M&A transactions in 2007 and 70 per cent expect to do so within five years.

The results underline the robustness of the M&A market in the financial services industry in Asia, which has remained relatively unscathed by the credit crunch and the slowdown in the US and Europe.

Asian countries are also seeing healthy economic growth, with financial services companies benefiting from robust stock market turnover, increasing insurance premiums and strong loan growth. According to Thomson Reuters, M&A volume in Asia has decreased only 1.9 per cent so far this year to $252.3bn from the same period last year, compared with a 36.9 per cent drop globally.

About 44 per cent of the 281 Asia-based financial services senior executives surveyed by PwC expect M&A deal volumes to rise this year in spite of the credit crunch, as they expect potential sellers to consider deals that may not have been attractive previously.

While M&A activities in financial services jumped by more than half in China last year, the total value of transactions dropped in the first quarter due to a deferral of large deals and a slowdown of transactions because of the credit crisis.

But Matthew Philips, head of PwC's financial services M&A practice in China, said a pick-up in activity was well under way. “Our pipeline is greater than it was last year,” he said.

In China, eight of the top 10 financial services transactions last year were done by domestic players, up from 60 per cent in 2006, as Chinese firms, often armed with hefty capital from stock offerings, became more acquisitive.

As the Asian M&A market remained strong, PwC said regional companies would also take bigger roles in future deals as their western counterparts tightened belts.

Last month, Malayan Banking, Malaysia's largest financial services company, beat Bank of China, HSBC and Kookmin Bank of South Korea to buy a majority stake in Bank Internasional Indonesia. Mr Philips said a western firm could have won the auction had it not been for the credit crisis.

In another trend, more than 80 per cent of respondents expect sovereign wealth funds to invest more in the financial services industry in Asia.

亚洲地区的并购交易额正在急剧增长，这是因为该地区的领军企业抓住机遇，在临近本国的快速增长的市场上扩大规模，获取更多资源。

数据供应商Dealogic的数字显示，今年迄今为止，亚太公司间已公布的跨境交易金额累计已达到540亿美元。相比之下，去年同期的交易总值为257亿美元。

银行人士报告称，从目前正在筹备的交易看，2008年将成为亚洲内部交易创纪录的一年，令去年762亿美元的纪录相形见绌。自2004年以来，亚洲内部的交易额一直在稳步上升。当时，亚洲地区的并购交易总额为352亿美元。

日本第三大制药企业第一三共 (Daiichi Sankyo)上周的意外声明，突显出亚洲地区并购交易的增长。第一三共计划获得印度最大仿制药生产公司Ranbaxy Laboratories的控股权。

如果获得成功，这笔价值高达46亿美元的现金交易将成为印度上市公司的最大收购案。它震惊了印度的企业界，因为它们已习惯于由自己的领先企业在美国和欧洲进行资产收购。

中国在金融服务及资源行业的对外投资，一直引领着亚洲地区的整合。在东南亚地区，跨境交易活动也很活跃。

银行人士将亚洲并购交易的增长归因于强劲的经济增长、本地企业规模和融资实力的上升，以及高级管理层进行海外交易信心的提高。

雷曼兄弟(Lehman Brothers)亚太并购部主管彭高年(Colin Banfield)表示，中国牵头的财团收购力拓(Rio Tinto)价值140亿美元的股份，彰显出亚洲企业有能力在全球重大交易中扮演领军角色。

分析家们相信，由雷曼做顾问的中国铝业(Chinalco)在2月份收购了上述股份，目的是试图阻止必和必拓(BHP Billiton)以1800亿美元收购力拓的计划。

彭高年补充道：“亚洲企业继续在地区内部收购资产，究其原因，是由于个别市场具备高增长潜力，这些企业可实现现有业务的更紧密联盟，文化上的适配，以及对于它们最终更易于管理与整合的预期。”

译者/李晖

The value of mergers and acquisitions within Asia is soaring as the region's leading companies take advantage of opportunities to build scale and secure resources in fast-growing markets closer to home.

The aggregate value of announced cross-border deals between Asia-Pacific companies has totalled $54bn in the year to date, according to figures from Dealogic, the data provider. This compares to $25.7bn during the corresponding period last year.

Bankers report that deals currently in the pipeline should mean 2008 will be a record year for intra-Asian deals, eclipsing last year's mark of $76.2bn. The value of intra-Asian deals has risen steadily since 2004, when combined deal activity totalled $35.2bn.

The growth in regional M&A was underscored last week by the surprise announcement that Daiichi Sankyo, Japan's third-largest pharmaceutical company, plans to take control of Ranbaxy Laboratories, India's biggest generic drugs maker.

If successful, the cash deal, worth up to $4.6bn, will be the biggest acquisition of a listed Indian company. It has shocked corporate India, which has become used to its leading companies acquiring assets in the US and Europe.

Regional consolidation has been led by outbound Chinese investment into the financial services and resource sectors. There has also been strong cross-border activity across south-east Asia.

Bankers attribute the growth in Asian M&A to strong economic growth, increasing scale and financial capabilities of the region's corporations and rising confidence among senior management ranks to execute overseas deals.

Colin Banfield, head of Asia-Pacific M&A for Lehman Brothers, said the acquisition of a $14bn stake in Rio Tinto by a China-led consortium highlighted the ability of the region's corporations to play a leading role in globally significant deals.

Analysts believe Chinalco, which was advised by Lehman, purchased the stake in February to try to thwart BHP Billiton's planned $180bn takeover of Rio.

Mr Banfield added: “Asian companies continue to acquire assets within Asia because of the high growth potential of the individual markets, closer alignment of these businesses with their existing operations, a cultural fit and the expectation that they will ultimately be easier to manage and integrate.”

果说交易活动正陷入停滞，没人会认为是亚洲。数据提供商Dealogic的数据显示，今年迄今为止，亚洲已宣布的并购活动较去年同期增加了10%，与并购活动同比减少35%至47%的美国、欧洲及英国形成反差。

即便根据已完成的交易计算，亚洲的交易活动也正接近2007年的水平，今年迄今达到1890亿美元。诚然，这一数额还不到欧洲的三分之一，但差距正在缩小：从已宣布的并购交易数据来看，亚洲的并购交易正接近美欧水平的一半。澳大利亚和中国在交易中占了很大比重，各约占三分之一。澳大利亚尽管与美国和英国结构相似，但受信贷紧缩的影响却比这两个国家小。此外，受害者的应对方式更有可能是并购——例如，西太平洋银行(Westpac)对规模更小、受到严重冲击的银行业对手St George发起收购——而非筹措资金。与此同时，大宗商品热潮确保了稳定的交易流量——特别是在中国买方与澳大利亚卖方之间。在截至2007年6月的一年里，澳大利亚外国投资审查委员会(Foreign Investment Review Board)共批准了874项来自中国的申请，较上年增长一倍。

尽管亚洲的总体并购交易大幅增长，其中一些领域的情况却一如既往。在亚洲并购活动中占比很小的私人股本仍然微不足道——今年迄今达成近150笔并购交易，金额不足70亿美元。对出资方而言，筹措资金易如反掌，但支出则存在难度。亚洲私人股本研究中心(Centre for Asia Private Equity Research)的数据显示， 2006年以来，针对亚洲投资的基金共筹资逾750亿美元，但其中约200亿美元的资金至今尚未运用。令银行家更为清醒的事实是，并购交易并不总是给他们带来收益：今年三分之一的已完成交易是在没有顾问的帮助下进行的。

Lex专栏是由FT评论家联合撰写的短评，对全球经济与商业进行精辟分析。

译者/刘彦

deal flows are stalling, no one thought to tell Asia. Announced merger and acquisition activity so far this year is up 10 per cent on the same period last year, according to data provider Dealogic. That contrasts with the US, Europe and UK, where M&A levels are down 35-47 per cent.

Even on a completed basis, deal flow is running close to 2007 levels in Asia, at $189bn in the year to date. Granted, that is less than a third of European volumes but the gap is closing: on announced numbers, Asian M&A is running at almost half the level of both the US and Europe. Australia and China account for the lion's share of deals, with each responsible for about a third. In spite of its structural similarities to the US and UK, Australia has suffered less from the credit crunch than its peers. Besides, casualties are more likely to respond by mergers – for example, Westpac's offer for smaller and worse-hit banking rival St George – than by raising capital. Meanwhile, the commodity boom ensures a steady flow of deals – especially between Chinese buyers and Australian sellers. Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board approved 874 applications from China in the year to June 2007, double the previous year's level.

In spite of the surge in headline volumes, it is business as usual in some parts of the landscape. Private equity, which accounts for a sliver of Asian M&A, remains tiny – less than $7bn worth of buy-outs so far this year, from nearly 150 deals. For the sponsors, raising money is a cinch but spending it is harder. Since 2006, more than $75bn has been raised by funds targeting Asian investment, according to the Centre for Asia Private Equity Research, but about $20bn has yet to be deployed. More sobering still for bankers is the fact that M&A does not always pay the bills: a third of this year's completed deals were conducted without the help of an adviser.

Unsolicited bids are running at their highest level in almost a decade as companies use their cash-rich balance sheets to swallow their weaker counterparts.

Since the beginning of the year, unsolicited bids have accounted for 19 per cent of global mergers and acquisitions, according to data from Dealogic – the highest proportion since 1999.

Investors have been galvanised by a range of attacks in recent weeks, ranging from InBev's $55bn unsolicited takeover of Anheuser-Busch to Schaeffler's attempt to win control of Germany's Continental and WPP's hostile bid for Taylor Nelson Sofres.

Even Chinese companies, which have traditionally been highly conservative when acquiring foreign companies, are turning hostile, as demonstrated this month by Sinosteel's $1bn takeover of Midwest, the Australian iron ore producer.

Unsolicited bids are defined as offers with the intent to purchase the target and in the public domain, that have not been agreed and recommended by the target's board.

目前主动竞购(unsolicited bid)正处于近十年来的最高水平，一些公司凭借自身现金充沛的资产负债表，吞并实力较弱的同业对手。

根据Dealogic提供的数据，自今年初以来，主动竞购占全球并购交易的19%——为1999年以来的最高比例。

近几周来，一系列“进攻”令投资者振奋：英博(InBev)以550亿美元主动竞购安海斯-布希公司(Anheuser-Busch)，舍弗勒集团(Schaeffler Group)试图获得大陆公司(Continental)的控制权，而WPP对Taylor Nelson Sofres发起敌意竞购。

从本月中钢集团(Sinosteel)以10亿美元收购澳大利亚铁矿石生产商中西部公司(Midwest Corporation)的交易来看，连一向在收购外国企业方面非常保守的中国公司，也正趋向敌意。

主动竞购是指有意公开收购竞购目标，但没有得到被收购公司董事会同意和推荐的出价。

译者/何黎

6月27日公布的一项调查指出，贸易保护主义立法和管理文化差异，是亚洲并购活动持续增长的最大障碍。

在接受调查的亚洲大公司高管中，有80%以上的人表示，未来12个月内，“抑制外国所有权的国内立法”和亚洲各地各有不同的管理文化，最可能影响跨国收购。

寻求在中国和印度这样高速增长市场中达成交易的公司，面临着混乱多变的当地监管障碍，这些障碍常常无法逾越。

在一片反对外资的民族主义声浪中，为了获准收购徐工(Xugong)的多数股份，美国私人股本基金凯雷集团(Carlyle Group)已经进行了18个多月的努力。徐工是一家中国建筑机械制造商。

高管们提到的并购障碍还有法律运用缺乏一致性，以及公司常常不愿意出售。

这项研究的数据来自200位首席执行官和首席财务官在今年三、四月的反馈，而他们分别来自进驻亚太地区的区域性公司和跨国公司。受英国西盟斯律师事务所(Simmons & Simmons)委托，并购数据提供商《并购市场》杂志(Mergermarket)负责实施了此次调研。《并购市场》隶属于英国《金融时报》集团。

西盟斯律师事务所国际公司实践负责人戴蒙•勒梅特-乔治(Damon Le Maitre-George)表示：“我们认为，寻求（在亚洲）并购的公司，在制定战略时会把更多的注意力投向交易的法律方面。”

亚洲地区的并购活动已经达到创纪录水平，因为各公司都在争相寻求收购和联合，以期搭上中国和印度经济快速增长的便车。

这项研究显示，今年首季度，亚洲地区有614笔并购交易，几乎是上年同期的两倍。这些交易的总价值达到了创纪录的1105亿美元。这是首个针对亚洲并购问题展开的研究。

预计未来12个月内并购活动最集中的领域有制造业、金融服务业、生命科学和技术领域。在这些领域，有60%的受调查者计划在此期间成立合资企业或开展并购交易。

不过，这些交易的规模预计将在1亿美元到5亿美元之间，与美国和欧洲进行的大交易相比，规模小很多。

有近三分之二的受调查者认为，未来12个月内，向国外进行的并购活动也会增多，因为亚洲公司希望打造全球规模并获得技术。

估计北美和欧洲将成为“狩猎场”。

译者/徐柳

Protectionist legislation and management culture are the most serious obstacles to continuing growth in merger and acquisition activity in Asia, according to a survey published on the 27th June.

More than 80 per cent of senior executives of big companies in the region surveyed cited “domestic legislation that stifles foreign ownership” and widely different management cultures across Asia as most likely to derail cross-border acquisitions in the next 12 months.

Companies seeking to sign deals in fast-growing markets such as China and India face a bewildering and changing array of local regulatory hurdles, which often prove insurmountable.

Carlyle Group, the US private equity fund, has tried for more than 18 months to secure approval to buy a significant stake in Xugong, a Chinese maker of construction machinery, amid a nationalist backlash against foreign investment.

Further M&A obstacles cited by executives were lack of consistency in the application of laws and the fact that businesses are often unwilling to sell.

The study was based on responses from 200 chief executives and chief financial officers of regional and multinational companies based in the Asia-Pacific region in March and April this year. It was commissioned by the Simmons & Simmons law firm and conducted by Mergermarket, the M&A data provider owned by the Financial Times Group.

Damon Le Maitre-George, head of international corporate practice for Simmons & Simmons, said: “We believe companies who are pursuing M&A opportunities [in Asia] will pay more attention to the legal aspects of the transactions in formulating their strategies.”

M&A activity has hit record levels in the region as companies rush to engineer acquisitions and alliances to gain exposure to soaring growth in countries such as China and India.

According to the inaugural study, there were 614 M&A deals in the region in the first quarter of the year, nearly double the number in that period last year. The deals had a record combined value of $110.5bn.

Sectors in which most activity is expected in the coming 12 months include manufacturing, financial services, life sciences and technology. In these sectors, 60 per cent of respondents planned a joint venture or M&A deal in the period.

But deal sizes are expected to be between $100m and $500m, which is moderate compared with the mega-deals taking place in the US and Europe.

Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed believe that outbound M&A will also rise in the next 12 months, as Asian-based companies look to build global scale and acquire technologies.

North America and Europe are the expected hunting grounds