审计纷争或引发赴美中概股退市潮

The Big Four auditors have been caught in the crossfire of a US-China regulatory dispute, but the biggest casualty could be Chinese companies listed in the US.

四大会计师事务在美中两国监管当局的纷争中正受到双面夹击。不过，在纷争中受影响最大的，应该是在美上市的中国企业。

The US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday accused the Chinese affiliates of the Big Four – Deloitte, Ernst and Young, KPMGand PwC– plus one other firm, BDO, of breaking securities laws after they refused to produce paperwork related to investigations into accounting fraud at nine Chinese companies.

美国证交会(SEC)周一指控德勤(Deloitte)、安永(Ernst and Young)、毕马威(KPMG)、普华永道(PwC)等四大会计师事务所及另一家事务所德豪(BDO)的中国分公司违反证券法，因为它们拒绝向美方交出关于9家中国企业的审计文件，而这9家企业正面临美方的欺诈调查。

But by charging the Chinese affiliates of the leading global accounting firms, the SEC has begun a process that could hasten the wholesale delisting of Chinese companies from the US stock market.

通过起诉全球顶级会计师事务所的中国分公司，SEC开启了一项或将加速中国企业成批从美国股市退市的进程。

The accounting firms are faced with a Catch-22 situation. The US says they must share audit documents from foreign countries, while China bars that practice.

四大会计师事务所陷入了令它们左右为难的困境。美国监管当局要求它们共享来自其他国家的审计文件，而中国方面则禁止这种做法。

Paul Gillis, a professor of accounting at Peking University, says the SEC action could mark “the beginning of the end of US stock market listings for Chinese companies. “All the Chinese companies listed in the US will be without auditors and that will lead to their delisting, he adds.

北京大学会计学教授保罗·吉利斯(Paul Gillis)表示，SEC的这次行动可能标志着，中国企业在美上市潮“将画上句号。他补充称：“所有在美上市的中国企业都将陷入没有审计方的境地，这将导致这些企业的股票被摘牌。

Caught in this tussle are dozens of small companies – some of which have been accused of business fraud by short-sellers such as Muddy Waters – and a few larger groups such as the giants of the Chinese internet sector Baiduand Sina.

受到美中监管纷争影响的包括数十家小型企业——其中部分企业被浑水公司(Muddy Waters)等卖空机构指控存在商业欺诈行为——以及少数规模较大的企业，比如中国互联网巨头百度(Baidu)和新浪(Sina)。

There has already been a wave of delisting from US markets by Chinese groups with private equity or mainland bank backing. Focus Media, a display advertising company valued at $3bn, is pursuing China’s largest buyout deal, while Asiainfo-Linkage, a telecoms billing group, is set to delist with backing from Citic Capital.

得到私人股本和中资银行资金支持的中国企业，已经开始一轮从美国股市退市潮。市值30亿美元的展示广告公司分众传媒(Focus Media)，正在推进中国最大的一笔私有化收购交易。而电信计费集团亚信联创(AsiaInfo-Linkage)则因获得了中信资本(Citic Capital)的收购要约而行将退市。

Bankers and lawyers in Hong Kong say many more groups are seeking funding to pursue such deals. “For Chinese companies, a US listing used to be a badge of honour, but the regulatory burden, tax concerns and the poor performance of shares means they are no longer interested, says one Hong Kong lawyer.

驻香港的银行家和律师表示，还有很多机构也在寻找融资推进此类交易。一名驻港律师表示：“对中国企业来说，在美上市曾是一种荣誉；但在监管负担、税收问题以及股价表现不佳等因素影响下，企业已经丧失在美上市的兴趣。

Yu Guofu, a lawyer with Beijing Shengfeng law firm, says a China-US auditing framework should have been worked out years ago.

北京盛峰律师事务所的于国富律师表示，中美双方早在多年以前就应建立起审计合作框架。

“This is an issue that should have been dealt with before they were listed, so that it didn’t get to this point where auditing firms can’t do anything about it, he says.

他表示：“这个问题本应在中国企业赴美上市以前就得到解决，而不应发展至眼下这种地步，现在审计事务所对此根本做不了什么。

Instead, US-listed Chinese companies have existed in a grey area, with neither US nor Chinese regulators monitoring them closely, and some have exploited that ambiguity.

实际情况却是，在美上市的中国企业一直处于灰色地带，美中两国监管当局都未能对其严密监管，其中部分企业就钻了这种监管不确定性的空子。

The issue has come to a head after the SEC began to investigate potential wrongdoing. To date the US regulator has filed fraud allegations against 40 individuals or companies.

到SEC开始就潜在违规行为展开调查时，上述问题已发展到了非常严重的地步。到目前为止，SEC已针对40个公司或个人提出欺诈指控。

Mr Gillis doubts a diplomatic solution can be achieved. He says the Chinese government objects in principle to the idea of allowing foreign regulators to oversee domestic companies. “I don’t think the Chinese are going to back down. This is too fundamental an issue.

吉利斯不认为美中双方能够达成一个外交解决方案。他指出，中国政府原则上反对给予国外监管机构监管本国企业的权力。吉利斯表示：“我不认为中方会做出让步。这是一个触及基本原则的问题。

US bankers in Hong Kong say the SEC can never allow lower standards for companies from a particular country because others would demand the same. “This is an issue that can only be dealt with at the government to government level, says one US banker. “It looks like that diplomatic process may have broken down.

驻香港的美国银行家则表示，SEC绝不会接受对来自特定国家的企业适用较低的监管标准，因为这样一来，其他企业也会要求享受同等待遇。一名美国银行家表示：“这个问题只能在政府间层面得到解决。目前看来，美中两国与此有关的外交进程或已破裂。

Michael Andrew, KPMG global chairman, says the timing of the SEC move is “curious, as it follows hard on the heels of the news of the departure of Mary Schapiro, SEC chairman, while coinciding with a change of leadership in China.

毕马威全球董事长迈克·安德鲁(Michael Andrew)表示，SEC采取行动的时点“耐人寻味——因为玛丽·夏皮罗(Mary Schapiro)不久之前才宣布卸任SEC主席的消息，而中国也刚刚才完成领导层换届。

He hopes the US will not trigger mass Chinese delistings: “When you are dealing with the Chinese, constructive engagement will always result in better outcomes.

安德鲁希望，美国方面能避免引发在美上市的中国企业大规模退市。他指出：“在与中国人打交道时，建设性的接触总会带来更好的结果。

Hong Kong, where almost one-quarter of listings are mainland companies, has also faced problems getting audit papers out of China. The Securities and Futures Commission is pursuing Ernst and Young in Hong Kong’s courts over working papers related to Standard Water, a Chinese group that applied to list in the territory but cancelled its float.

香港也面临从中国内地获取审计文件的问题。在港上市的企业中，将近四分之一来自内地。香港证监会(Securities and Futures Commission)已将安永告上本地法庭，因后者不愿交出关于中国企业——标准水务(Standard Water)的审计文件。标准水务曾申请在港上市，但随后又撤销了上市计划。

However, Tong Daochi, head of International Affairs at the China Securities Regulatory Commission, told a gathering of lawyers in Hong Kong only last week that audit working papers should be shared with other regulators to crack down on fraud and maintain market integrity.

不过，中国证监会国际部主任童道驰上周在香港对参加一个会议的律师们表示，未来中国应该会与其他监管当局共享审计工作底稿，以打击金融欺诈和维护市场秩序。

But he added that there were legal hurdles in dealing with different rules in different countries. “I think we’ll shortly be able to work out a way to deliver those papers, he said.

但童道驰补充表示，在处理不同国家的不同法规方面存在一些司法障碍。他说：“我认为我们不久就能找到一个共享审计文件的办法。