日本企业对华直接投资大幅下滑

Japanese investment in China recorded a steep drop in October, amid friction between Asia’s two largest economies over a chain of islets in the East China Sea.

日本对华投资10月份大幅下滑，目前亚洲两大经济体正围绕东中国海一个群岛发生摩擦。

According to data from Beijing’s Ministry of Commerce, direct investment by Japanese companies totalled $460m last month, down almost a third from last year’s levels. The sharp fall knocked Japan’s overall direct investment in China to an annual growth rate of 11 per cent, from 17 per cent in the first nine months.

中国商务部数据显示，上月来自日本企业的直接投资总计4.6亿美元，同比下滑近三分之一。这一下滑把日本在华总直接投资的年度增幅拉低至11%，而今年头9个月的增幅达到17%。

Monthly figures are an imprecise indicator, as investments tend to have long lead-times. But analysts say that the recent escalation of a long-simmering dispute over the Senkaku islands, which China calls the Diaoyu, has given executives cause to rethink the risk of investment in China.

月度数据不是一个精确指标，因为投资项目往往有较长的筹备期。但分析师表示，日中围绕尖阁诸岛(Senkaku islands)——中国称为“钓鱼岛及其附属岛屿——的长期纠纷最近升级，促使企业高管们反思在华投资的风险。

Companies are in a “wait-and-see mode, said a senior official at a government-linked institution in Tokyo. “Their basic investment strategies will not change, but they are looking for a political solution. Many are waiting for signs that their investments in China are safe, and welcome.

在东京，一家与政府有联系的机构的高级官员表示，企业现在正处于“观望状态。“它们的基本投资战略不会改变，但它们在期盼一个政治解决方案。许多企业在等待相关迹象，以确认自己在中国的投资是安全的、受欢迎的。

Japanese businesses were stunned by widespread damage to their operations in China during riots in September. Some companies say sales have also been badly hit by disruption to Chinese imports from Japan and unofficial Chinese boycotts of Japanese products.

日本企业对它们的业务在今年9月中国反日骚乱期间受到大范围损害感到震惊。一些企业表示，它们的销售也受到沉重打击，两大原因是，中国从日本的进口被扰乱，以及中国出现对日本产品的非官方抵制。

On Tuesday Japan protested against the entry of four Chinese state vessels into territorial waters around the disputed islands, the latest in a series of such challenges to Japanese control of the area since the dispute flared anew.

周二，日本抗议4艘中国公务船进入有争议岛屿领海范围。这是岛屿之争再度升级以来，中国针对日本对该地区的控制发起的一系列挑战中的最新一例。

Meanwhile, big Japanese companies with investments in China are experiencing hold-ups in gaining regulatory approvals for deals. Steelmaker JFE Holdingsand heavy machinery manufacturer IHI Corphave had to delay a merger of shipbuilding units three times, while Marubeni, the trading house, is still awaiting the go-ahead to buy Gavilon of the US – a deal it had said would be cleared by September.

与此同时，在中国有投资的日本大型企业正在交易审批方面遭遇监管部门的拖延。钢铁生产商日本钢铁工程控股公司(JFE Holdings)与重型机械制造商石川岛播磨重工(IHI Corp)已被迫三度延迟造船部门的合并，而贸易商社丸红(Marubeni)仍在等待中国监管部门批准其收购美国谷物贸易商Gavilon的交易。丸红表示，这笔交易本应在9月份就得到放行。

Under a Chinese antimonopoly law in force since 2010, M and A deals must be cleared with authorities if they would lead to combined sales in China of more than Rmb2bn ($321m), or over Rmb10bn worldwide.

根据2010年起生效的中国反垄断法，如果并购交易的各方在中国的总销售额超过20亿元人民币（合3.21亿美元），或全球销售额超过100亿元人民币，那么相关交易就必须得到中国有关部门的批准。

According to one M and A banker in Tokyo, seeking antitrust approval has become a “painful process since bilateral relations deteriorated. “Given the environment now, [clearance] is a huge risk. Checking used to be an easy decision. Now deals could be held up indefinitely.

据东京一名从事并购业务的银行家介绍，自日中双边关系恶化以来，争取获得反垄断批准就变成了一个“痛苦的过程。“鉴于目前的环境，（获批）存在巨大的风险。以前很容易获得放行。现在有些交易可能遭到无限期搁置。