What can Chinese billionaires learn from Li Ka-shing ? Be careful of debt.
中国的亿万富豪们能从李嘉诚那里学到什么？答案是，要谨慎看待负债。In a rare media interview last week, Asia's richest man said property markets in Hong Kong and China both look overheated, and stressed the importance of financial prudence. 'We need to be careful about debt, as if we are treading on thin ice,' Mr. Li told China's Southern Weekend. 'We have been buying less land in Hong Kong and China because prices are so high.'
这位亚洲首富在上周罕见地接受了国内媒体采访，说香港和中国大陆的房地产市场都有过热迹象，并强调了审慎理财的重要性。《南方周末》引用李嘉诚的话说：“我一生的原则是不会去赚最后一个铜板。”李嘉诚还表示，“过去两三年我们买入的项目较少。香港地价高，已看到不健康的趋势……内地的地价也飞涨，我们也无法成功投得土地……对于债务和贷款问题，非常小心处理，如履薄冰”。Real estate has been a leading source of wealth creation in both Hong Kong and China, but Hong Kong developers are much more cautious with credit than their mainland peers. The total debt-to-asset ratio of Hong Kong-based developers―at around 30%―is half that of those on the mainland.
不管在香港还是中国大陆，富豪很多来自地产行业。在对待信贷的态度上，香港开发商比他们的内地同行要谨慎得多。总部位于香港的开发商的资产负债率大约在30%，这一水平是内地同类企业的一半。
In China, developers have been growing fast by buying land using borrowed money, building apartments quickly, and sometimes selling them even before they are completed. But the government's efforts to cool the housing market have slowed sales and price growth, putting that model at risk.
在中国大陆，开发商使用借贷资金大量购地，快速建设住房，常常还未完工便开始售房回笼资金。他们凭借这一模式快速成长。然而政府的购房限令放慢了销售额的增长速度，使这种快进快出、高杠杆率的经营模式面临风险。'Many Chinese companies are borrowing at very high rates and there is no way that they can make this kind of return,' said Antonio Huang, head of Asia structured trade and export finance at Banco Santander SA. As money gets tighter, some will inevitably go bust, he said.
西班牙国家银行亚洲结构贸易与出口金融主任 Antonio Huang说，中国企业借贷的利率很高，而他们根本不可能达到这么高的回报。随着资金收紧，有些企业将不可避免地倒闭。At Mr. Li's Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., which operates ports, telecommunications and retail businesses, liabilities were 43% of assets as of June 30. Net debt as a percentage of net total capital, the amount by which net assets exceed cash, stood at 20%. By comparison, Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co., controlled by China's richest man, Wang Jianlin, had a total debt-to-asset ratio of 76% as of June 30. Its net-debt-to-net-total capital ratio was 38%.
截至今年6月，李嘉诚旗下经营港口、电讯及零售的和记黄埔有限公司，其资产负债率为43%，净负债占净资本（总资产减现金）的百分比为20%。 大陆公司则更激进。拿中国大陆首富王健林掌管的大连万达商业地产股份有限公司来说，截至6月30日，其总资产负债率达76%，净债务占净资本比为38%。Mr. Li's empire can afford to take on more debt. His ports, electricity and telecom businesses have relatively low operational risks, and are hardly affected by economic cycles, because people have to have utilities even in a downturn. The companies also generate a lot of cash, which helps pay down debt quickly.
李嘉诚的生意能负担起更大规模的债务。港口、电力和电讯业务的经营风险较低，并且几乎不受经济周期的影响──经济不好，电费和电话费还是要付的。这些业务可产生大量资金，能快速缩减负债规模。Wanda's real-estate business is much more cyclical, because 83% of revenue comes from property sales rather than leasing retail space, which generates a steadier cash flow. The company had negative operating cash flow in the first six months of 2013, requiring it to tap external funding to meet its financial needs and obligations, according to the prospectus of a recent bond offering.
而万达的房地产业务受经济周期的影响要大得多，因为其83%的收入来自房地产销售，而非现金流更加稳定的租赁业务。根据万达近期的债券募集说明书，去年上半年和今年上半年，公司的营运现金流均为负值，需筹集外部资金以满足其财务需求。Despite tougher economic conditions at home, Wanda has gone on an overseas shopping spree. This year, it paid $1 billion to build London's tallest hotel, and another $1 billion to buy British yacht maker Sunseeker International. Wanda acquired AMC Entertainment Holdings, a U.S. cinema chain, last year for $2.6 billion. Wanda says its debt ratios aren't high compared with its Chinese peers, and it can sell investment properties to raise money if needed.
国内经济放缓的大背景下，万达加快了海外收购的步伐。今年，该公司投资10亿美元在伦敦兴建当地最高的酒店，并另支付10亿美元并购英国圣汐游艇公司(Sunseeker International)。去年，万达斥资26亿美元收购了美国影院连锁企业AMC Entertainment Holdings。万达指出，其债务比例与中国同行相比并不高，且如果需要的话，公司可以出售一些投资性地产来进行融资。Sifting through Forbes's list of China's rich, one might notice a pattern of high debt ratios at property developers and conglomerates. Overall, China's corporate debt is high by international standards―127% of gross domestic product compared with an average of 70% in other emerging markets, according to Spanish bank Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA . The fortunes of Chinese billionaires are closely tied to their companies, because most are first-generation entrepreneurs with wealth bound up in the businesses they founded.
上了《福布斯》中国富豪榜的很多房地产开发商和综合性集团都采取了类似的高负债率经营模式。据西班牙对外银行有限公司(BBVA)称，如果以国际水平为标杆进行衡量，中国企业总体上负债水平很高，债务占国内生产总值(GDP)的127%，而其它新兴市场的均值仅为70%。高杠杆对中国富豪们的私人财富带来较大风险，因为他们的大部分财富依然投资于其公司当中。To mitigate the risks, Chinese billionaires could borrow from the Li Ka-shing playbook. Mr. Li is also on an overseas buying binge, but he has managed to keep debt ratios low. Since the 2008 financial crisis, Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Ltd. has spent more than $22 billion on overseas acquisitions, according to Dealogic. But as Mr. Li invests in European utilities, he is considering an initial public offering of his global retail business, A.S. Watson & Co., next year, which some analysts have valued at more than $20 billion.
要降低风险，中国的亿万富翁应当从李嘉诚那里取经。李嘉诚也大举进行了海外收购，但他将负债率保持在较低水平上。根据数据公司Dealogic，自2008年金融危机以来，长江基建集团有限公司已投入超过220亿美元用于海外收购。在李嘉诚投资于欧洲设施的同时，他正准备让旗下全球零售企业屈臣氏上市，有分析师估计，筹资金额将高达200亿美元。Not all bets by Mr. Li, often referred to as 'Superman' in Hong Kong because of his business prowess, have done well. Hutchison lost $20 billion over seven years because of investments in a high-speed mobile-phone network. But it has been able to absorb those losses because the conglomerate is diversified and debt levels are low. As more Chinese entrepreneurs join the world's billionaire club―China now ranks only behind the U.S. in the number of dollar billionaires, according to Forbes―they should think about protecting their wealth more than growing it aggressively.
因非凡的商业能力而被香港人尊称“超人”的李嘉诚，其实也并非在商海中一帆风顺。和记黄埔曾因投资于高速移动电话网络而经历了长达七年、总计200亿美元的亏损。但因为投资项目的多样化和低债务水平，公司经受住了这一考验。随着越来越多的中国企业家加入到世界亿万富翁俱乐部中（根据《福布斯》，中国亿万美元富翁总数现已仅次于美国），他们应当更多地思考如何保护他们的财富，而不应一味快速扩张。