中概股在美受挫 美国交易所被批看门不力

In the middle of the last decade, U.S. stock exchanges were struggling with a decline in listings, and markets in Asia boomed.

在上一个10年的中叶，美国证券交易所因上市业务减少而步履维艰，而亚洲市场则是一派红火。

To fight back, NYSE Euronext and Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. began to compete in China for new companies. The two exchange operators sent small teams of bilingual salesmen from Shenzhen in southern China to the plains of Inner Mongolia to find potential listings for U.S.-based stock markets.

为了反击，纽约泛欧交易所集团(NYSE Euronext)和纳斯达克集团(Nasdaq OMX Group Inc.)开始在中国争夺新的公司。两家交易所运营商派出小规模的双语销售员团队，南自深圳，北至内蒙古平原，去寻找有可能前往美国上市的公司。

The salesmen returned with a haul. From 2006 to 2010, 325 Chinese-based companies listed shares in the U.S., according to data provider Dealogic and researchers at Harvard Business School.

这些销售人员满载而归。据数据商Dealogic和哈佛商学院(Harvard Business School)研究人员的数据，从2006年到2010年，共有325家总部在中国的公司赴美上市。

A total of 222 Chinese companies got access to U.S. markets through 'reverse mergers,' Harvard researchers calculated. Such mergers are a backdoor way to a stock-exchange listing with less regulatory scrutiny than an initial public offering.

哈佛商学院的研究人员通过计算得出，共有222家中国企业是通过“反向收购登陆美国市场的。反向收购是一种借壳上市的方法，受到的监管没有首次公开募股(IPO)那么严格。

Then came a wave of accounting and governance problems that led to the delisting of dozens of Chinese companies from U.S. exchanges. Remaining firms saw their share prices tumble as investors fled.

然后就出现了一轮会计问题和治理问题，导致数十家中国公司从美国交易所退市。未退市公司的股价则随着投资者逃离而大幅下跌。

U.S. securities regulators are intensifying a crackdown on the problems, claiming Monday that five accounting firms refused to hand over documents sought in investigations of alleged accounting frauds at nine Chinese companies.

美国证券监管机构正在大力整顿这些问题，周一就声称，在调查九家中国公司会计欺诈嫌疑的过程中，有五家会计师事务所拒绝提交要求它们提交的文件。

Less noticed is the role of U.S. stock-exchange operators in wooing faraway companies. Stock exchanges face a tension between the need for new listings and responsibility to keep out companies that might deceive investors, said Paul Gillis, an accounting professor at Peking University's Guanghua School of Management in Beijing.

相对没有引起注意的，是美国交易所运营商在招徕远方企业的过程中扮演的角色。北京大学光华管理学院会计学教授吉利斯(Paul Gillis)说，交易所面临着这样一种矛盾：既要有新的公司上市，也要承担不让有可能欺骗投资者的公司上市的责任。

'Can you really be a 'gatekeeper' if your success is dependent on these companies listing?' he said. Critics claim the exchanges bear some of the blame for not detecting financial problems at Chinese companies that later imploded, erasing billions of dollars in shareholder value.

他说，如果你的成败取决于这些公司是否上市，那你还能成为真正的“看门人吗？批评者说，中国公司的财务问题没被发现，后来它们的股价崩盘，导致股东数十亿美元的资金打了水漂，交易所在这当中负有一定责任。

'It's clear there was a period of time when the exchanges were not vigilant enough,' said Peter Humphrey, founder of ChinaWhys, a consulting firm in Shanghai that specializes in corporate investigations.

上海专做公司调查的咨询公司ChinaWhys的创始人汉弗莱(Peter Humphrey)说，显然有那么一段时间交易所不够机警。

To trade shares on Nasdaq or the NYSE, companies must satisfy requirements such as minimum levels of shareholders, assets or earnings. The firms have to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission and get their financial results audited.

要在纳斯达克或纽约证券交易所上市，企业必须满足最低股东数量、资产或盈利等方面的要求。这些公司必须在美国证券交易委员会(Securities and Exchange Commission)登记，并提交经过审计的财务报表。

As problems emerged at Chinese-based companies, Nasdaq 'acted aggressively to strengthen its initial and continued listing process to protect investors,' said Joe Christinat, a Nasdaq spokesman. The exchange operator hired an outside investigator, expanded its internal investigations team, and began asking companies for independent verification of cash balances, among other moves.

纳斯达克发言人克里斯蒂娜特(Joe Christinat)说，在中国公司的问题浮出水面的时候，纳斯达克采取大力措施加强了公司上市及维持上市地位的程序，以保护投资者。纳斯达克聘请了一家外部调查机构，扩充了内部调查团队，开始要求公司提供现金余额的独立认证结果，并采取了其他一些措施。

The actions led to the exodus of more than 40 China-based companies from Nasdaq, either because they were kicked off by the exchange operator or the companies withdrew. More than 40 other companies were unable to list. The NYSE didn't provide comparable figures for delistings.

这些措施导致40多家中国公司撤离纳斯达克，有的是被交易所踢出去，有的是自行退市。另外还有40多家公司无法上市。纽约证交所没有提供有关退市的可比数据。

Last year, the NYSE toughened up its standards for reverse-merger listings, formalizing a policy for companies to be traded for at least a year somewhere else before listing on its exchange. The policy was similar to one first proposed by Nasdaq.

去年，纽交所提高了反向合并公司上市的标准，并制定了一项规定，要求这些公司只有在其他地方上市至少一年之后才能在纽交所上市。这一规定与纳斯达克率先提出的一项规定类似。

'Even if you had people in the business who said, 'I have a company that qualifies,' that company could be rejected if it didn't meet the seasoning requirement,' said Scott Cutler, head of global listings at NYSE Euronext.

纽约泛欧交易所集团全球上市主管卡特勒(Scott Cutler)说，即使一家公司其他方面合格，如果这家公司不符合“成熟上市的要求，那么该公司也可能被拒绝。

The SEC said it identified listing standards as an 'issue' during its scrutiny of foreign companies, including U.S.-listed China-based companies.

SEC说，在对包括在美上市的中国公司在内的外国企业进行审查时，该机构认为这些公司在美上市需达到的标准是一个重要问题。

'We met with the listing markets, which then on their own volition tightened their standards for listing reverse merger companies and are committing more resources to prelisting due diligence,' said John Polise, an associate director in the SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations.

SEC合规检查办公室的副主任波利斯(John Polise)说，我们与交易所的管理人员曾经见过面，他们自愿提高了反向合并公司的上市标准，而且正在把更多资源投入到上市前的尽职调查中。

At the peak, at year-end 2010, 167 Chinese companies were listed on Nasdaq and 99 on the NYSE. That compares with 84 China-based companies on NYSE and 129 on Nasdaq as of Nov. 30, 2012, according to the exchanges.

根据纳斯达克和纽交所提供的数据，在美上市的中国公司数量最多的时候是2010年年末，当时有167家中国公司在纳斯达克上市，99家在纽交所上市。相比之下，2012年11月30日时，纽交所上市的中国公司有84家，在纳斯达克上市的有129家。

One hotly contested listing was the 2010 IPO of online retailer Dangdang Inc. DANG -3.66%After months of phone calls and visits to the company, Nasdaq got a commitment from Dangdang to list its shares with Nasdaq, according to two people with direct knowledge of the negotiations. But Dangdang, known as the Amazon.com Inc. AMZN -0.23%of China, then switched its $272 million initial public offering to the NYSE at the last minute after being courted by the exchange, these people said.

在线零售商当当2010年的首次公开募股(IPO)受到了纽交所和纳斯达克的激烈争夺。据直接了解有关谈判的人士说，在几个月的电话和公司拜访之后，纳斯达克得到了当当在纳斯达克上市的承诺。这些人士说，然而经过纽交所的一番争取之后，中国的亚马逊当当最后还是选择在纽交所进行其2.72亿美元的IPO。

When both exchange operators wanted a listing, they often dangled perks such as ringing the opening bell, marketing assistance and investor- and media-relations services.

当两家交易所想要争取同一家公司前来上市时，他们通常会拿出一些诱饵，比如给予敲响开市钟的待遇、提供营销上的协助、以及提供投资者关系和媒体关系服务等。

In the middle of the last decade, Nasdaq had the edge on reverse-merger companies because certain listing requirements were less stringent than at the NYSE. At a 2007 Nasdaq-sponsored meeting called 'Special Panel for Chinese Companies' at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Shanghai, Nasdaq officials told Chinese executives that reverse-merger companies saw their share prices rise as much as 15% after moving to the exchange, according to presentation materials.

本世纪头10年的中期，纳斯达克在吸引反向合并公司上市方面占了上风，因为与纽交所相比，纳斯达克没有那么多严格的上市规定。2007年在上海丽思卡尔顿酒店(Ritz-Carlton Hotel)举行的一次由纳斯达克赞助的会议上，据会上的演讲材料显示，纳斯达克的高管告诉中国企业的高管，一些反向合并公司在转移到纳斯达克之后，股价涨幅高达15%。

The competition for reverse-merger companies intensified after NYSE Euronext acquired the American Stock Exchange in 2008. In a 2010 internal analysis of the acquisition, the NYSE said it provided 'huge potential' for Chinese companies to list on NYSE Amex, which had less stringent listing standards than the Big Board. NYSE Amex has since been renamed NYSE MKT.

在纽约泛欧交易所于2008年收购了美国证券交易所(American Stock Exchange)之后，对反向合并公司的争夺变得更加激烈。2010年纽交所在对这次收购的内部分析中说，这次收购可能会促成大量中国公司在纽约泛欧交易所集团全美证券交易所(NYSE Amex)上市，NYSE Amex与纽交所相比没有那么多的严格的上市标准。NYSE Amex此后被更名为NYSE MKT.

The deal also provided opportunities to 'develop closer relationship(s) with influencers to refer deal flows to NYSE Amex,' according to the internal analysis. The document said the exchange operator's reputation might be at risk of damage from 'shady' companies and advisers.

这一内部分析显示，这笔交易还提供了与有影响力的人士建立更亲密关系的机会，这些有影响力的人士将把更多交易机会介绍给NYSE Amex。这份文件说，这家交易所运营商的声誉可能因为不可靠的公司和顾问而受损。

Worries about the exchanges' role in listing Chinese stocks surfaced in 2008 when investment-fund managers and short sellers, armed with documents they believed showed fraud at some companies, began airing their concerns to officials at Nasdaq and the SEC.

2008年时人们开始对交易所在中国公司上市过程中所扮演的角色产生忧虑，当时，一些投资基金的经理和卖空者开始向纳斯达克和SEC的官员公开表达他们的担忧，他们认为自己手中拥有可以证明一些公司存在欺诈的文件。

Some fund managers also questioned whether Nasdaq representatives were jeopardizing the exchange's impartiality through their alleged close ties to bankers on reverse mergers. A short seller bets that a company's shares will fall. Nasdaq and the SEC said they don't comment on such complaints.

一些基金经理也认为，纳斯达克的代表被指与反向合并公司的承销商存在密切关系，这可能会破坏交易所的公平性。做空者是押注一家公司的股票将下跌的人士。纳斯达克和SEC表示，他们对这类指责不予置评。

In May 2009, Nasdaq fired its chief China representative, Guangxun Xu, according to three people familiar with the matter.

据三名知情人士说，2009年5月，纳斯达克解雇了其驻中国首席代表徐光勋。

Mr. Xu said he was 'terminated' but doesn't believe it was related to complaints made by fund managers. He said he didn't have close ties to reverse-merger promoters in China. He said he told Nasdaq in 2008 that he wanted to resign to pursue other interests, but the exchange operator asked him to stay. Nasdaq declined to comment.

徐光勋说，他被“解约了，但是他不认为这与基金经理们的抱怨有关。他说，他在中国与从事反向合并的经纪商没有密切关系。徐光勋说，他在2008年曾对纳斯达克表示，想要辞职以从事其他自己感兴趣的工作，但是交易所对他进行了挽留。纳斯达克不予置评。

In 2010, Nasdaq hired the outside investigator to inspect the financial statements of Chinese reverse-merger companies. Some of the reviews included checking those companies' operations in Chinese mainland, according to Nasdaq.

2010年，纳斯达克聘请了外部调查员，以调查中国反向合并公司的财务报表。据纳斯达克说，评估中包括了对这些公司在中国内地运营情况的调查。