核危机未阻中国公司收购海外铀矿(双语)
With its biggest uranium-mining deal at stake, China has kept its head during Japan's nuclear crisis while other investors in the sector have been losing theirs. It likely had little choice.
尽管中国最大的铀矿收购交易正处于成败关头,但在日本核危机期间,虽然铀交易领域的其它投资者失去了理智,中国却保持了冷静。但中国可能也是别无选择。
China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holdings Co., or CGNPC, appeared to have scored a major coup when it struck a GBP756 million deal on March 7 to buy Kalahari Minerals. The deal put the Chinese in the box seat to secure access to one of the world's biggest uranium deposits in Namibia, as Kalahari's main asset is a near-43% stake in the mine's developer, Extract Resources.
中国广东核电集团(China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holdings Co.,简称:中广核)3月7日发起以7.56亿英镑收购Kalahari Minerals的交易时,该公司似乎已取得了重大成功。这宗交易让中国处于有利地位,可获取位于纳米比亚的全球最大铀矿床之一。Kalahari Minerals的主要资产是在这座铀矿床的勘探公司Extract Resources持有近43%的股份。
However, the nuclear crisis in Japan following the devastating earthquake and tsunami on March 11 has triggered a collapse in uranium-mining shares that makes the Chinese deal look extremely overpriced. Kalahari shares last traded at 240 pence amid widespread worries over the outlook for nuclear power, versus CGNPC's offer for 290 pence each.
然而,3月11日日本强震和海啸过后出现的核危机引发了铀矿股价暴跌,这令中广核的交易价格看上去被极度高估。Kalahari的最新股价是240便士,而中广核的报价是每股290便士。全球对核电前景出现了广泛担忧。
CGNPC's stance also appears surprising as other deals in the sector are being renegotiated in favor of buyers. Russia's JSC Atomredmetzoloto was able to shave A$140 million off its original A$1.16 billion bid for Tanzania-focused uranium miner Mantra Resources due to the impact of the Japan quake, and still secure a recommendation from its target's board Monday.
在该领域其他交易正在朝著有利于买家的方向重新谈判之际,中广核的态度看上去也令人意外。受日本地震影响,俄罗斯的JSC Atomredmetzoloto得以将原先以11.6亿澳元收购业务集中于坦桑尼亚的铀矿勘探商Mantra Resources的报价降低了1.4亿澳元,降低后的报价仍获得了目标公司董事会的推荐。
What's driving CGNPC's thinking is probably fear. The nuclear-power generator knows that it caught the market napping with its surprise offer. Many investors had expected Rio Tinto to be a suitor for Kalahari, given it already owned 11.50% of the company and its producing Rossing uranium mine is just a few kilometers away from Extract's Husab deposit in Namibia. By walking away, CGNPC would give Kalahari's board the chance to drop its support for the bid and talk to Rio.
主导中广核思维的可能是担忧。中广核知道自己的突然报价令市场出其不意。许多投资者原本预计力拓(Rio Tinto)会收购Kalahari,因为力拓已经持有该公司11.5%的股份,而力拓运营的Rossing铀矿离Extract Resources在纳米比亚的Husab铀矿只有几公里远。如果此时撤出收购,中广核可能会给Kalahari董事会一个机会放弃支持自己的出价,转而同力拓谈判。
CGNPC's reluctance to renegotiate may also reflect a belief that the current worries about nuclear power--especially in its home country--are overdone. China and India, which account for around half of the 479 new reactors planned globally, are unlikely to abandon the technology given the pressing need for electricity to maintain their growing economies and in the absence of cheap and plentiful alternatives.
中广核不愿进行重新谈判可能也反映了该公司认为目前对核电的担忧(尤其是在中国)过头了。在全球计划新建的479座反应堆中,中国和印度就大约占据了一半。在迫切需要电力维系经济增长且无法找到廉价丰富的替代能源的前提下,中国和印度不可能放弃核技术。
When Chinese companies weigh up strategic needs against valuations, it's strategy that usually wins. CGNPC's deal for Kalahari may no longer look a bargain, but that doesn't make it a bad bet.
中国公司权衡战略需求和估值的时候,通常是战略需求胜出。中广核收购Kalahari的交易看上去也许并不便宜,但这并不表示它是一个糟糕的选择。