Concern as Oil Giant in Brazil Founders
巴西國營石油危及經濟
By Dan Horch

SÃO PAULO, Brazil – The accusations of corruption at Brazil’s state-controlled petroleum giant Petrobras have already led to a political scandal and a change in management. Now, the problems are threatening other Brazilian companies and may even tip the country into recession.
有關巴西國營的石油業巨擘「巴西石油公司」涉及貪腐的指控，已經演變成一件政治醜聞，並使該公司管理階層大換血。現在，這些問題正威脅巴西其他企業，甚至可能使國家經濟為之翻轉，步向衰退。

Petrobras produces more than 90 percent of the country’s petroleum, owns all of the nation’s refineries, operates more than 3,300 kilometers of pipelines and dominates wholesale gas and diesel distribution.
巴西石油公司生產巴西逾九成石油，擁有全國所有的煉油廠，經營超過3300公里的油管，壟斷天然氣和柴油的批發配銷。

“The government’s plan was to make Petrobras as big as possible,” said Samuel Pessoa, an economist at the Fundação Getulio Vargas in Rio de Janeiro. He estimated that the company, through its own operations and its subcontractors, was responsible for about a tenth of Brazil’s economic output.
里約熱內盧FGV大學的經濟學家山繆．佩索說：「政府的計畫是讓巴西石油公司越大越好。」他估計，這家公司透過本身的營運和轉包商，大約貢獻巴西經濟產值的1/10。

In the wake of a police investigation, called Operation Car Wash, that indicated that Petrobras’s suppliers and subcontractors had bribed executives in return for inflated contracts, the company has halted payments on many projects. Petrobras has also prohibited new contracts with some of the country’s biggest engineering and oil services firms.
在被稱為「洗車行動」的警方調查之後，這家公司已對許多計畫停止付款。調查顯示，巴西石油公司的供應商和轉包商賄賂公司高層，換取灌水的合約。巴西石油公司也已禁止與一些巴西最大的工程和石油服務公司簽訂新合約。

The company’s moves are also threatening the bottom lines of subcontractors, which are getting hit twice: Their cash flow has plummeted and the crisis means that they cannot borrow money to tide them over.
這家公司的動作也危及轉包商的生存底線，這些轉包商遭受雙重打擊：他們的現金流量直線下滑，而且這次危機意味他們不能借到錢以度過難關。

Petrobras’s problems are also spreading to Brazil’s capital markets. Because of uncertainties over how much the company will have to write down the value of some assets because of corruption, Petrobras’s auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers, has refused to sign its quarterly earnings release. Without an audited earnings release, Petrobras, with net debt of $110 billion, cannot tap the global bond market.
巴西石油公司的問題也擴散到巴西的資金市場。由於不確定這家公司因為貪腐而須減記多少資產價值，巴西石油公司的稽核單位資誠聯合會計師事務所，拒絕在公司每季發布的財報上背書。淨負債1100億美元的巴西石油公司欠缺經過稽核簽證的財報發布，無法在全球債券市場發行債券。

Since Petrobras was seen as the bluest of blue chips, its bonds traditionally served as a benchmark for all Brazilian companies.
巴西石油公司一向被視為最績優的績優股，也因此該公司的債券傳統上是所有巴西企業的基準。

Without that benchmark, other companies in Brazil are not even trying to use the bond market.
少了基準，巴西的其他企業甚至不試圖利用債市。

One Petrobras subcontractor, Alumini, has already asked for a bankruptcy court’s protection, claiming that Petrobras owes it 1.2 billion reais, or $420 million.
巴西石油公司的一家轉包商Alumini，已向法院聲請破產保護，宣稱巴西石油公司欠這家公司120億巴西幣，合4.2億美元。

OAS, the fifth-largest engineering company and a major Petrobras subcontractor, has missed bond payments and is trying to negotiate with creditors to avoid bankruptcy. OAS has 7.9 billion reais in debt, or about $2.8 billion.
巴西第五大工程公司，也是巴西石油公司的主要轉包商OAS，已經無法如期償付債券款項，且正與債權人協商，以避免破產。OAS負債79億巴西幣，約合28億美元。

Problems can be expected throughout the construction and energy sectors as Petrobras’s subcontractors – many of them giant companies – cut spending, even if they avoid bankruptcy.
當巴西石油公司的轉包商－其中很多是大公司－削減支出，即便他們避免了破產，可預期整個營建工程界和能源界都會出現問題。

“We are going to see a lot of companies in the sector closing,” said Adriano Pires of the Brazilian Center for Infrastructure.
巴西基礎建設中心的亞德里安諾．皮里斯說：「我們將會看到這些業界很多公司倒閉。」

Others will have to sell assets to survive. “There will be specific sectors, particularly in infrastructure, where we will see more M.&A. activity this year,” said Antonio Pereira of Goldman Sachs. Airports and highways are likely to be among the assets put up for sale, Mr. Pereira said.
其他沒倒的公司則必須變賣資產以求存活。高盛公司的安東尼奧．皮瑞拉說：「某些產業，尤其是在基礎建設界，今年我們會看到更多的合併與收購活動。」皮瑞拉說，機場和公路很可能都會是求售的資產。

原文參照：
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2015/02/11/a-corruption-scandal-at-petrobras-threatens-brazils-bond-market-and-economy/

2015-03-03聯合報/G9版/UNITED DAILY NEWS 田思怡譯 原文參見紐時週報七版下