本文翻译自7.7华尔街日报

China to Tighten Rules for Overseas Listings

中国将收紧海外上市规则

 

Directives come as regulators intensify their scrutiny of tech firms, including Didi

这些指令出台之际，监管机构正在加强对滴滴等科技公司的审查

Chinese and U.S. companies could get caught in the middle of the nations’ rift.

中国和美国公司可能陷入国家分裂的中间地带。

 

By Keith Zhai in Singapore and Jing Yang in Hong Kong

Didi has faced regulatory actions since its New York stock debut.

滴滴在纽约上市以来一直面临监管行动。

 

China said it would tighten rules for companies listed over- seas or seeking to sell shares abroad, moves that could hinder attempts by homegrown firms to raise money in the U.S.

中国表示，将收紧对在海外上市或寻求在海外出售股票的公司的规定，此举可能阻碍本土企业在美国融资的尝试。

The shift comes as Chinese regulators intensify scrutiny into technology companies, including Didi Global Inc., that recently listed in the U.S. Wall Street has long been a bridge between China’s economic miracle and the U.S. Blockbuster listings of firms like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. in New York emphasized China’s rising economic clout while letting American investors profit from their growth.

这一转变正值中国监管机构加强对滴滴全球（Didi Global）等科技公司的审查之际。这家最近在美国华尔街上市的公司与阿里巴巴集团（Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.）等公司一样，是长期以来一直是中国的经济奇迹和美国沟通的桥梁。

 

Now, China’s move toward restricting such listings highlights the diverging visions in Beijing and Washington of the future of technology, data protection and security. With a widening gulf of distrust on a range of issues, both Chinese and American companies could get caught in the middle.

现在，中国限制此类上市的举动凸显了北京和华盛顿对未来科技、数据保护和安全的不同看法。随着一系列问题的不信任加深，中美企业可能会陷入困境。

 

Turmoil around Didi fore-shadowed the latest move. The ride-hailing giant has faced a series of regulatory actions at home since its New York stock debut last week. People familiar with the matter said Chinese officials suggested it delay its initial public offering, partly amid concerns that the U.S. government could use audit documents that Didi was required to file as a U.S.-listed company to gain access to data on Chinese citizens.

此前，围绕滴滴的动荡给这一最新举措蒙上了阴影。自上周在纽约上市以来，这家打车巨头在国内面临一系列监管行动。知情人士说，中国官员建议滴滴推迟首次公开募股（ipo），部分原因是担心滴滴可能会利用作为美国上市公司必须提交的审计文件，获取中国公民的数据。

 

In recent days, a unit of China’s cybersecurity regulator also said it launched data-security reviews into popular mobile apps operated by Full Truck Alliance Co. and Kanzhun Ltd., which raised close to $7 billion in total from U.S. IPOs in June.

最近几天，中国网络安全监管机构的一个部门还表示，该机构对Full Truck Alliance Co.和Kanzhun Ltd.运营的热门移动应用程序进行了数据安全审查。这两家公司今年6月在美国IPO共筹集了近70亿美元的资金。

 

The measures could have far- reaching implications for a raft of China’s tech giants that are planning IPOs offshore, and for the global investment firms that hold stakes in them. Many investors bought into fast-growing Chinese startups expecting to cash out after the companies list.

这些措施可能对一大批计划在海外IPO的中国科技巨头以及持有这些公司股份的全球投资公司产生深远影响。许多投资者买入了快速增长的中国初创企业，希望在这些企业上市后套现。

 

In the U.S., IPO bankers scrambled to understand the directives from China, people familiar with the matter said. Some fielded calls from furious fund managers who had purchased shares of Didi in its IPO last week, only to watch the company lose a huge chunk of its value—as of the end of trading on Tuesday, Didi’s stock was 12% below its IPO price.

知情人士说，在美国，IPO银行家争相了解中国的指令。一些人接到了愤怒的基金经理打来的电话，他们上周在滴滴的IPO中购买了滴滴的股票，结果看到滴滴在周二交易结束时市值大幅缩水，滴滴的股价比IPO价格低了12%。

 

A big question on those investors’ minds: Who knew what, when? Didi has said it wasn’t aware of Chinese regulators’ plans to put it under cybersecurity review and ban new downloads of its app ahead of its IPO.

这些投资者心中的一个大问题是：谁知道什么时候发生了什么？滴滴曾表示，不知道中国监管机构计划对其进行网络安全审查，并在其IPO前禁止其应用程序的新下载。

 

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co. were the main underwriters on Didi’s offering. All three firms declined to comment.

高盛集团（Goldman Sachs Group Inc.）、摩根士丹利（Morgan Stanley）和摩根大通（JPMorgan Chase&Co.）是滴滴网发行的主承销商。这三家公司均拒绝置评。

 

Also of concern for IPO bankers and investors who own U.S.listed shares of Chinese companies is whether the new guidelines out of China are only about data, or if they represent a sea change from the country that could lead to companies’ pulling potential U.S. listings.

持有中国公司在美上市股票的IPO银行家和投资者同样担心的是，中国出台的新指导方针是否只是针对数据，还是意味着中国发生了翻天覆地的变化，有可能导致企业撤回在美上市的潜在机会。

 

Either way, a freeze of the Chinese IPO pipeline seems to be the current state of play: Bankers say any Chinese company that was planning a U.S.-listed IPO in the coming months is likely being shelved for now.

不管怎样，冻结中国IPO渠道似乎是目前的现状：银行家们表示，任何计划在未来几个月在美国上市的中国公司都可能暂时被搁置。

 

Both Beijing and Washington have long seen economic engagement as the cornerstone of the two countries’ ties. But the relationship has become so unpredictable over the years that even the drive to make money in each other’s markets no longer works as a unifier.

长期以来，北京和华盛顿都将经济交往视为两国关系的基石。但这种关系多年来变得如此不可预测，以至于即使是在对方市场赚钱的动力也不再是一种统一。

 

In Chinese President Xi Jinping’s vision, Chinese entrepreneurs should put their nation ahead of business interests as the two countries compete for economic and technical advantages. For global investors, the proposed measure is the latest suggestion that the Chinese government could exert its authority to block any deal at the last minute to ensure that companies’ data on Chinese citizens doesn’t slip into U.S. hands.

在习近平主席看来，中国企业家应该把自己的国家置于商业利益的前面，因为这两个国家争夺经济和技术优势。对全球投资者而言，这项提议是最新的建议，即中国政府可以在最后一刻行使权力阻止任何交易，以确保企业有关中国公民的数据不会落入美国手中。

 

After Beijing scuttled Ant Group Co.’s IPO last year, a multibillion-dollar windfall quickly turned into a nightmare for global investors, who found themselves stuck with shares in the financial-technology giant that wouldn’t soon pay off.

去年，北京取消了蚂蚁集团（Ant Group Co.）的首次公开募股（IPO）后，数十亿美元的暴利很快就变成了全球投资者的噩梦，他们发现自己被困在这家金融科技巨头的股票里，而这些股票不会很快得到回报。

 

The government said in new guidelines released on Tuesday that regulators need to deepen cross-border cooperation overaudit supervision and amend laws and regulations “on data security, cross-border data flow and other confidential information management.”

中国政府在周二发布的新指南中表示，监管机构需要深化跨境合作，加强审计监管，并修改“关于数据安全、跨境数据流和其他机密信息管理”的法律法规

 

The guidelines were drafted in the context of “profound changes in the economic and financial environment,” amid what authorities described as mounting lawlessness in the capital market that had made regulatory oversight more challenging, the government said.

政府表示，这些指导方针是在“经济和金融环境发生深刻变化”的背景下起草的，而当局称，资本市场上的违法现象日益严重，使得监管监督更具挑战性。

 

Even as tensions deepened between Beijing and Washington, the U.S. remained a magnet for Chinese tech companies hoping to go public. Chinese companies have raised more than $75 billion from U.S. IPOs since 2012, according to Dealogic data.

即使北京和华盛顿之间的紧张关系加深，美国仍然希望中国科技公司可以在美国上市。Dealogic数据显示，自2012年以来，中国企业从美国IPO融资超过750亿美元。

 

This year, some 36 companies from China have gone public in the U.S., the same number as all of 2020, according to Dealogic data. Didi’s recent IPO, which raised $4.4 billion, was the largest since Alibaba Group’s 2014 blockbuster stock sale, which fetched $25 billion.

据Dealogic数据显示，今年，约有36家中国公司在美国上市，与2020年全年的数量持平。滴滴网最近的IPO融资44亿美元，是自2014年阿里巴巴集团募资250亿美元以来规模最大的一次。

 

In its detailed statement, Beijing vowed to revise rules for stock offerings on exchanges outside of China. It also called for more accountability of domestic regulatory bodies and better interagency coordination.

在其详细声明中，中国政府誓言要修改境外交易所的股票发行规则。它还呼吁加强国内监管机构的问责制和更好的机构间协调。

 

The latest directives could help plug a long-running regulatory loophole for many Chinese tech companies. Such firms are usually registered in offshore tax havens that fall outside China’s legal jurisdiction. That has spared them from the regulatory scrutiny and rigorous IPO vetting that is applied to Chinese companies planning to list domestically.

最新的指令可能有助于填补许多长期存在的针对于中国科技公司的监管漏洞。这类公司通常在中国法律管辖范围以外的海外避税天堂注册。这使它们免于监管审查和严格的IPO审查，而这些审查适用于计划在国内上市的中国公司。

 

—Corrie Driebusch and Chong Koh Ping contributed to this article.