Chinese Take Note of Spanish Property
大陸開始錢進西班牙房市
By Raphael Minder

MADRID – In June, one of China’s richest men, Wang Jianlin, bought a landmark office tower in Madrid that had stood empty for years. The Franco-era building had become a symbol of the Spanish real estate market’s collapse.
今年六月，大陸首富之一王健林在馬德里購買已閒置多年的一棟地標辦公室大樓。這棟佛朗哥時代的建築，已成為西班牙房市崩盤的象徵。

The purchase of the 25-story Edificio España by Mr. Wang’s conglomerate, the Dalian Wanda Group, for 265 million euros, or about $340 million, was seen here as evidence that the nation’s property market was on the mend – and that Spain was figuring more prominently in the plans of Chinese investors.
王健林的財團「大連萬達集團」以2億6500萬歐元，約合3億4000萬美元，購買這棟25層樓的「西班牙埃迪菲西奧」大樓，被此間視為西班牙房市好轉，以及大陸投資人更樂意錢進西班牙的證據。

The deal “put Spain on the map for Chinese institutional investors, who generally feel a lot more comfortable about going into a new market once they have seen at least one large transaction go ahead,” said Fernando de Góngora of Reliance Star Partners, a consulting firm in Hong Kong.
香港「倚星合夥」顧問公司的德貢戈拉說，這筆交易讓「大陸一些機構投資人將西班牙擺進投資版圖中，這些人通常至少要先看見一筆大交易敲定，才會對錢進新的市場大大放心。」

The Spanish government has made several moves to make investors feel welcome. For example, this year it scrapped a law that allowed Spain’s national court to indict Chinese political leaders on charges of human rights violations in Tibet. In addition, individual Chinese investors have benefited from a program that allows foreigners who buy property in Spain to apply for residency.
西班牙政府已採取數項動作，讓投資人覺得賓至如歸。例如，西班牙今年廢除一項法令，不再准許國家法院以侵犯西藏人權罪名起訴大陸政治領袖。此外，西班牙頒行一項新方案，允許在當地購買房地產的外國人申請居留權，也讓大陸的個人投資人受惠。

Jaime García-Legaz, the Spanish secretary of state for the economy, said that the current level of deal-making in Spain “amounts to still small investments, but the most important thing is that China has put its focus on Spain.”
西班牙負責經濟的國務秘書賈西亞-雷格茲說，目前西班牙的成交水平，「總計來說投資金額仍小，但最重要的是，大陸已開始聚焦於西班牙。」

When Spanish companies look at emerging markets, they traditionally focus on Latin America. China ranks 26th as a destination for Spanish investment, accounting for just 0.5 percent of Spain’s total foreign direct investment, according to a recent report by Esade, the Spanish business school.
西班牙公司放眼新興市場時，傳統上會專注於拉丁美洲。根據西班牙艾薩德工商管理學院的一分報告，在西班牙的投資目的地中，大陸排名第26，僅占西班牙對外直接投資總額的0.5％。

Repsol, the Spanish energy company, is involved in a joint venture with Sinopec, its much-larger Chinese counterpart, to explore for oil in Brazil. More typical is the case of BBVA, a Spanish lender that earns more from banking operations in Mexico than in its home market. BBVA decided in October 2013 to cut its stake in Citic Bank, part of a conglomerate controlled by the Chinese government, to help meet international capital requirements. Telefónica, the Spanish telecommunications giant, halved its stake in China Unicom in 2012 to cut its debt.
西班牙能源公司「雷普索爾」，和更大的大陸能源公司「中石化」合資在巴西探勘石油。更典型的例子是「西班牙對外銀行」，這個西班牙放款機構在墨西哥的銀行業務獲利高於本國市場。「西班牙對外銀行」2013年10月削減在大陸「中信銀行」的持股，以符合國際資本要求。「中信銀行」集團由大陸政府控制。西班牙電信巨擘「西班牙電信」2012年將在大陸「中國聯通」的持股減半，以削減負債。

At the same time, only 60 Chinese companies have operations in Spain, said lvana Casaburi, the lead author of the report. The Chinese are sharply increasing investment in Spain, but from a low base, according to the study.
與此同時，報告的主要作者伊凡娜．卡薩布里說，大陸僅約60家公司在西班牙有設點。但根據這分研究報告，大陸在西班牙的投資正急劇增長，不過是從低點開始。

Dalian Wanda’s purchase of the Edificio España is representative of the bargains investors can find in Spain’s battered property market. The Chinese conglomerate is paying about a third less than the €389 million that Banco Santander paid in 2005. Dalian Wanda plans to turn the structure into luxury apartments and a hotel.
「大連萬達」購買「西班牙埃迪菲西奧」，代表投資人可在西班牙受重創的房市中挑到便宜貨。這家大陸財團的買價，比桑坦德銀行2005年購入時支付的3億8900萬歐元，約少了三分之一。「大連萬達」打算將它改裝成豪華公寓和一家飯店。

Chinese investors are particularly interested in hotel properties, Ms. Casaburi said, because “they believe Chinese tourists should feel like they are at home when they travel.”
卡薩布里說，大陸投資人對飯店房地產特別感興趣，因為「他們認為應讓旅行在外的大陸遊客，有如居住家中一般」。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/23/business/international/spain-lands-on-the-map-of-chinese-investors.html

2014-10-14聯合報/G5版/UNITEDDAILYNEWS 王麗娟譯 原文參見紐時週報八版下