香港或伦敦可能是华为上市的更佳地点

Huawei Technologies Co. is looking to list its stock in the U.S., but with lawmakers in Washington saying the Chinese maker of telecommunications equipment poses a threat to national security, it may be better off looking toward Hong Kong, or even London.

华为技术有限公司(Huawei Technologies Co., 简称：华为)正考虑在美国上市，但由于美国国会议员认定这家中国电信设备制造商对美国国家安全构成了威胁，考虑在香港甚至是伦敦上市对华为来说可能更好。

Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Huawei has reached out to investment banks for advice on issuing stock to the public, as the company considers ways to make itself more transparent and improve its odds of winning big contracts in markets like the U.S.

据《华尔街日报》上周报道，华为已经开始接触投资银行以寻求向公众发行股票的建议。该公司正考虑采取种种方式提高透明度，增加其在美国等市场赢得大合同的几率。

Bankers say that with rival telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp. 000063.SZ +2.60% already listed in Hong Kong, the city should be a natural place for Huawei to go public.

银行家表示，由于华为的竞争对手、同为电信设备制造商的中兴通讯股份有限公司(ZTE Corp., 简称：中兴通讯)已经在香港上市，所以香港应该很自然地成为华为考虑的上市地点。

Its headquarters are just across the border in Shenzhen, and Hong Kong investors favor Chinese listings, they say.

银行家说，华为总部就设在粤港边境广东一侧的深圳，且香港投资者喜欢中国上市公司。

“I wouldn’t be surprised if [Huawei] felt that Hong Kong would be a more appropriate market for them given some of the issues they have faced elsewhere, said Christopher Betts, a partner in the Hong Kong office of international law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. “I don’t see why Hong Kong wouldn’t welcome a mainland telecommunications-equipment manufacturer.

世达律师事务所(Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.)驻香港合伙人周全(Christopher Betts)说，鉴于华为在其它地方碰到一些问题，如果华为觉得香港是更加合适的上市地点，我不会感到意外，我看不出香港有什么理由不欢迎一家内地电信设备制造商。

A Hong Kong-based banker said that his bank has repeatedly approached Huawei over the past ten years to discuss a listing in Hong Kong. As a telecom-equipment maker, Huawei differs from the Chinese Internet companies that list in the U.S. to take advantage of American investors’ interest in growth stocks, the banker said.

一位常驻香港的银行家说，在过去10年中他所在的银行曾多次接触华为以探讨在香港上市一事。这位银行家说，作为一家电信设备制造商，华为不同于那些在美国上市的中国互联网企业，因为后者利用的是美国投资者对成长型股票的兴趣。

The U.S., meanwhile, is looking like a harder place for Huawei to list. While Huawei is the world’s second-largest provider of telecom equipment after Sweden’s Ericsson, security concerns stemming from allegations that the company has ties to China’s military have stymied its access to big contracts in the U.S. Huawei has repeatedly denied having connections to the military.

与此同时，华为想在美国上市的难度越来越大。虽然华为排在瑞典爱立信(Ericsson)之后，是全球第二大电信设备供应商。但一种说法认为华为同中国军方存在联系，因此产生的对美国国家安全的担忧增加了其在美国获得大合同的难度。华为曾多次否认同中国军方存在关联。

Now, the U.S. House intelligence committee, after a yearlong investigation, has concluded that Huawei and ZTE pose security risks to the U.S. because their equipment could be used for spying on Americans. A report by the committee released Monday says that as Chinese companies, the firms would be required to comply with any Chinese government request for access to their systems.

如今，在长达一年的调查之后，美国众议院情报委员会得出结论说，华为和中兴通讯对美国国家安全构成威胁，因为它们生产的设备可用于从事针对美国人的间谍活动。众议院情报委员会周一公布的一份报告称，作为中资企业，这两家公司或将被要求满足中国政府提出的进入其系统的任何要求。

A Huawei spokesman denied the allegations, calling national-security concerns “baseless.

华为发言人否认了以上说法，称所谓担心美国国家安全受威胁的说法毫无根据。

Given the committee’s stance, “some very conservative institutional investors in the U.S. won’t touch the stock if the company seeks to list there, said Jefferies analyst Cynthia Meng.

美资券商杰富瑞(Jefferies)的分析师Cynthia Meng说，鉴于该委员会的立场，如果华为试图赴美上市，美国一些非常保守的机构投资者不会买入其股票。

Another hurdle for a U.S. listing would be a recent aversion among investors toward Chinese companies listed in the country. A series of alleged accounting scandals have battered the reputations of a number of Chinese companies among U.S. investors.

华为赴美上市所面临的另一障碍是近来投资者对在美上市的中资企业较为反感。一系列会计丑闻已经降低了部分中资企业在美国投资者心目中的声誉。

Still, a U.S. listing would represent progress in Huawei’s effort to make headway in the market and even win business from major U.S. telecom carriers. Huawei generates 70% of its revenue outside China, but hasn’t been as successful expanding in the U.S. as it has in other regions, such as Europe.

尽管如此，如果华为能成功在美上市，那么这将标志着其试图开拓美国市场的努力获得了回报，甚至可能赢得美国主要电信运营商的业务。华为的收入有70%来自海外，但其在美国市场的扩张不如在欧洲等地区那样成功。

Last year, Huawei posted 203.93 billion yuan ($32.2 billion) in revenue. About 30% was generated in China, while the Asian-Pacific region, excluding China, accounted for 20%. Europe provided 13%, but the U.S. only contributed 4%, or about $1.3 billion.

去年，华为录得了人民币2,039.3亿元（约合322亿美元）的营收。其中约30%的收入来自中国市场，而亚太地区（不包括中国）则贡献了20%的收入。欧洲市场在其中占比为13%，但美国市场只贡献了4%，约13亿美元。

Raising cash wouldn’t be the primary purpose of a U.S. IPO. Huawei says it had 57.2 billion yuan in cash at the end of 2011, and about 20.2 billion yuan in borrowings. Operating cash flow last year totaled 17.8 billion yuan.

筹集资金并非华为赴美上市的首要目的。华为表示在2011年底其现金结余为人民币572亿元，贷款约为人民币202亿元。其去年经营现金流总计人民币178亿元。

Even London, while not a popular listing destination for Chinese companies, shouldn’t be ruled out. Last month, Huawei said it plans to spend a total of $2 billion in the U.K. and double its workforce there over the next five years, as it sees growth opportunities despite uncertainties over Europe’s economic outlook.

甚至就连伦敦这一并不受中资企业欢迎的上市地点也不该被华为排除。上个月华为表示，它计划在英国支出总计20亿美元，并在未来五年内将英国的员工数量增加一倍。尽管欧洲经济前景并不确定，但华为仍然看到该地区的增长机会。

Apart from the U.S., the one place that would be tough for Huawei to list is its home base of China. Corporate law on the mainland says that no company planning an IPO there can have more than 200 shareholders.

除美国外，对华为来说想在中国内地上市同样非常困难。中国公司法规定，计划在内地上市的企业其股东数量不能超过200个。

In its 2011 annual report, Huawei said it is a private company wholly owned by its more than 65,000 employees.

华为在其2011年报中表示，该公司是一家非上市企业，由超过6.5万名员工全资所有。