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2010年7月9日 星期五

华为在美扩张恐要付出高昂代价

2010 年07月09日 15:30 PM

华为在美扩张恐要付出高昂代价
SUSPICION HINDERS HUAWEI’S EXPANSION



Huawei’s push to expand in the US through acquisitions and contracts with telecoms groups could come at a high cost for the Chinese equipment maker, including structural changes that are already under consideration by the company.

华为(Huawei)试图通过并购活动和与电信集团签订供应合同在美国扩张,但这种努 力可能会让这家中国电信设备制造商付出高昂代价,包括公司已在考虑的结构性转变。

Huawei, which was forced to abandon a joint bid for 3Com in 2008 because of US government security reasons, is still viewed with deep scepticism by US security officials, experts say.

由于美国政府的安全顾虑,华为2008年被迫放弃了对3Com的联合竞标。专家表示, 美国安全官员仍对华为持有深深的疑虑。

Fears about Chinese cyberattacks and China’s access to US infrastructure have heightened following a string of internet attacks against the US government that are believed by Washington to have stemmed from Beijing and accusations by Google that it was the victim of hacking in China.

华盛顿认为之前一连串针对美国政府的互联网攻击源头来自中国,谷歌(Google)也 声称自己是中国黑客的受害者,这些都加重了对于来自中国的网络攻击、以及中国侵入美国国家安全设施的担心。

These concerns complicate all large pursuits by the company in the US, including its tender for a major equipment contract with SprintNextel, the US telecoms group.

这些担忧令华为在美国的雄心遇到了挫折,包括它对美国电信集团 SprintNextel大型设备合同的竞标。

Motorola is considering options for its telecoms network business and Huawei is considered a potential bidder for the unit.

同时,在摩托罗拉(Motorola)考虑如何处理其电信网络业务之际,华为也被认为 是一个潜在竞购者。

It has been touted, too, as a possible partner to Harbinger, the hedge fund that owns US spectrum rights and has said it wants to build a fourth generation wireless network.

人们甚至认为华为可能成为对冲基金Harbinger的合作伙伴。Harbinger 拥有美国频谱权,并表示希望建立第四代无线网络。

However, it is far from certain whether Huawei will ever be able to convince officials charged with protecting the integrity of the US communications infrastructure that it is a reliable corporate partner.

然而,目前还远不能确定,华为能否说服负责保障美国通讯设施安全的官员们,它将是一个 可靠的企业合作伙伴。

The company declined to respond to questions by the Financial Times on how precisely it planned to persuade officials that it is trustworthy.

英国《金融时报》曾问华为:它具体打算如何说服官员们相信它的可信度,但华为拒绝回 答。

What is clear, say attorneys and former government officials who are well versed in the internal workings of the Committee on Foreign Investment (Cfius) – the interagency panel that has the power to block or approve foreign acquisitions of US assets – is that Huawei will have to agree to significant conditions if it is to make headway in the US.

精通美国外国投资委员会(Cifus)内部运作的律师和前政府官员们表示,有一点很清 楚,如果华为要在美国取得进展,它将不得不同意一些重要的条件。外国投资委员会是一个有权阻止或批准外资对美国资产收购的机构间协调小组。

James Lewis, a director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, says Huawei, which is privately held, will have to consider going public on a US or Hong Kong exchange.

战略和国际研究中心(Center for Strategic and International Studies)驻华盛顿负责人詹姆斯•刘易斯(James Lewis)表示,作为一家非上市公司,华为将不得不考虑在美国或香港上市。

It will also have to look hard at a possible realignment of its executive structure if it is to seriously dent concerns about a lack of transparency and allegations that the company has retained ties with the People’s Liberation Army.

同时,华为可能还得考虑调整其高管结构。只有这样,才能真正平息人们对华为缺乏透明 度,并与中国人民解放军仍保持某种关系的担心和指责。

Mr Lewis says the company has already taken a few steps to appease security concerns: it created a US subsidiary in Texas that is getting involved in community programmes and has produced an annual report that is similar to one that would be filed by a public company to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

刘易斯表示,华为已经采取了一些措施来缓和美国当局安全方面的顾虑:它在德州设立了一 家美国子公司,积极参与社区项目,并发布了一份与上市公司递交给美国证券交易委员会(SEC)类似的年报。

“All these pieces add up to a nice picture but whether it is enough to overcome their radioactivity, that will be hard to tell,” Mr Lewis says.

“这一切加起来看上去不错,但是否足以消除他们的辐射,还很难讲,”刘易斯表示。

Huawei is also considering creating an advisory board or panel staffed with former senior officials, a common tactic for foreign companies working in sensitive industries in the US, Mr Lewis says.

刘易斯称,华为还在考虑成立一个由前高级政府官员组成的顾问委员会或小组,这是在美国 从事敏感行业的外国公司常用的策略。

At a minimum, as part of any deal, Huawei will have to offer Cfius assurances that companies such as Alcatel Lucent have agreed in their own dealings with the committee.

最低限度是,在任何与美国公司的协议中,华为都必须向Cfius保证,诸如阿尔卡特- 朗讯(Alcatel Lucent)这样的协议伙伴,已同意自行与该委员会沟通。

In 2007, Nokia-Siemens agreed to a slew of security requirements following a classified national security review of its merger, including procedures that dictated whether foreigners could work on US equipment and software.

2007年,诺基亚(Nokia)和西门子(Siemens)的合并交易受到秘密的国 家安全审查,包括实施了一套程序以判断外国人能否使用美国设备和软件。之后这两家公司同意了许多安全要求。

Paul Marquardt, an attorney at Clearly Gottlieb who works on Cfius deals, says the most extreme arrangement is known as a “proxy agreement”, under which foreign companies own their US counterpart but do not manage it or have direct control of the company.

佳利律师事务所(Clearly Gottlieb)律师保罗•马夸特(Paul Marquardt)精通于处理与Cfius相关的交易。他说,最极端的一种做法是“代理人协议”。在这种机制下外国公司拥有在美国的业务,但不参与管理 或没有直接控制权。

Mr Marquardt says, however, that given the US government’s concern with Huawei is of a technical nature, it is unclear whether such an arrangement would satisfy US concerns.

然而马夸特表示,鉴于美国政府对华为的担忧是技术性的,因此不清楚这种安排能否让美国 满意。

“The concern is not about Huawei learning how to make a router. It’s about Huawei having access to installed routers on the US network,” Mr Marquardt says.

“他们担心的不是华为学习如何制造路由器,而是华为能够访问安装在美国网络上的路由 器,”马夸特表示。


译者/李裕

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