中国投资者认为 希腊捧着金饭碗讨饭

China, which runs Greece’s biggest container terminal, is fretting about its involvement in a country hailed only last year by Premier Li Keqiang as its “gateway to Europe”.

去年，希腊还被中国总理李克强誉为中国“通向欧洲的门户”。如今，作为希腊最大集装箱码头的运营方，中国已开始对其在希腊的投入感到担心。

Beijing’s nervousness stems from the rise of a leftist Greek political party that has demonstrated just how quickly its foreign investment strategies can be upended by electoral politics overseas.

中国的不安源于一个希腊左翼政党的崛起。该党的崛起展示出，中国对外投资战略转瞬之间就能被海外选举政治颠覆。

“Greece is like a beggar with a golden bowl,” says Yan Jiehe, a Chinese construction tycoon who recently toured Greece looking for road contracts. As long as Athens refused to share its golden bowl by offering foreign investors attractive terms, he said, it would fail to attract capital from companies such as his own privately held China Pacific Construction Group.

“希腊就像一个捧着金饭碗讨饭的乞丐，”不久前赴希腊物色筑路合同的中国建筑业大亨严介和表示。他说，只要雅典方面拒绝向外国投资者开出有吸引力的条款、分享它的金饭碗，希腊就无法从企业——比如他私人控股的中国太平洋建设集团(China Pacific Construction Group)——那里吸引来资本。

In January, Greek officials informed China’s government-owned grid operator that it was poised to win the tender for a 66 per cent stake in the national electricity distributor, Admie, and would shortly receive the contract.

今年1月，希腊官员通知中国国有电网运营商国家电网(State Grid Corp)，该公司有望赢得收购希腊国家电力传输运营商Admie 66%股份的竞标，并将在不久之后得到合同。

A week later Syriza swept to power in Athens, promising Greek voters that it would oppose EU-mandated reforms and privatisations.

一周后，激进左翼联盟(Syriza)在希腊选举中大获全胜、上台掌权，许诺希腊选民将抵制欧盟(EU)要求希腊实施的改革和私有化。

According to people familiar with the Admie tender, Greece’s new government first told State Grid Corp it might be willing to proceed with a joint venture structure. But hopes for a compromise deal were dead by the end of February, when Panagiotis Lafazanis, the Greek energy minister, said the privatisation would be halted.

了解Admie股权竞标的人士表示，希腊新政府先是告诉国家电网，它可能愿意推进建立合资企业的架构，但到2月底，当希腊能源部长帕纳约蒂斯•拉法赞尼斯(Panagiotis Lafazanis)表示将暂停私有化时，达成一项妥协协议的希望破灭了。

This hardline stance was confirmed on Wednesday night in a long list of terms presented by Syriza to its EU and IMF creditors, as negotiations to avoid a Greek default and possible exit from the eurozone hung in the balance. State Grid did not respond to a request for comment.

本周三晚，这一强硬立场在激进左翼联盟向欧盟和国际货币基金组织(IMF)的债权人开出的一长串条件中得到了确认。各方仍在举行谈判，以避免希腊违约和退出欧元区。国家电网没有回应置评请求。

Athens is under pressure from creditors to resume the Admie privatisation process as part of a broader liberalisation of the energy sector. But Mr Lafazanis, described by colleagues as “the one genuine communist in the Syriza government”, refuses to budge.

希腊受到债权人的压力，要求它重启Admie私有化进程，最终实现希腊能源业的自由化。但被同事称为“激进左翼联盟政府内唯一真正共产主义者”的拉法赞尼斯拒绝改变立场。

Publicly, China’s foreign ministry says it wants to see a speedy resolution to the crisis “so as to enable the stable development of the EU integration process”. The EU is Beijing’s largest trading partner.

在公开场合，中国外交部表示，希望希腊方面能早日走出危机，“能够使欧盟一体化进程继续稳步向前发展”。欧盟是中国最大的贸易伙伴。

Behind closed doors, Chinese officials are nervous. “They call us every day to ask what’s going to happen in Greece,” says one European official.

在私下里，中国官员很紧张。“他们每天都给我们打电话，询问希腊将会发生什么，”一名欧洲官员表示。

Luckily for Beijing, its existing Greek exposure is relatively limited and principally of the concrete and steel variety. While China’s disbursement of its $3.7tn in foreign exchange holdings is a closely held state secret, analysts believe that little if any of this largesse has been invested in Greek bonds.

对中国而言幸运的是，目前其对希腊的投资相对有限，而且主要在基础设施领域。尽管中国3.7万亿美元外汇储备的支出情况属于严格保守的国家机密，但分析人士相信，这笔钱即便有投到希腊债券上，肯定也少之又少。

When China’s premier toured Greece last year, Chinese banks agreed to fund energy projects and shipbuilding contracts worth a relatively modest $4.1bn. Greek shipping companies transport about 60 per cent of China’s commodity imports and are the most important clients for Chinese shipyards.

中国总理去年访问希腊时，中国几家银行同意为一些能源项目和造船合同提供融资，项目和合同的价值总额并不高，也就41亿美元。中国大宗商品进口的约60%是由希腊海运企业承运的，这些企业是中国造船厂最重要的客户。

“Besides infrastructure, what does Greece have that China actually wants?” asks one lawyer who advises Chinese investors in Europe. “They’re not like the Italians, who have great technology and brands.”

“除了基础设施，希腊还有什么中国真正想要的东西吗？”一名为欧洲的中国投资者提供咨询的律师问道，“他们不像意大利人，意大利人还有伟大的技术和品牌。”

To date, China’s highest profile Greek investment has been Cosco’s 35-year concession to run two terminals at Piraeus, southeast Europe’s largest port. It was intended as prelude to a bid for Athens’ sale of a 67 per cent stake in OLP, which oversees all of the port’s operations. Last year, throughput at Cosco’s Piraeus terminals increased more than 18 per cent to 3m containers.

迄今为止中国在希腊最出名的投资，是中远集团(Cosco)在东南欧最大港口比雷埃夫斯港两个码头的特许经营权，时限为35年。这项投资是个前奏，大戏是竞购雅典方面出售的比雷埃夫斯港务局(OLP) 67%的股份。OLP负责监管比雷埃夫斯港所有业务。去年，中远比雷埃夫斯港码头的吞吐量增长了逾18%，至300万个集装箱。

There were threats to halt the larger Piraeus privatisation but Athens ultimately decided to proceed with the sale of a 51 per cent stake. The winner will also have the option of purchasing an additional 16 per cent interest in the port after four years. “We’re committed to getting the Piraeus port sale done within 2015,” said a senior executive at Greece’s privatisation agency.

有人曾扬言要暂停比雷埃夫斯港较大规模的私有化，但雅典方面最终决定推进该港51%股份的出售。竞购成功者还可选择在4年后收购该港另外16%的股份。希腊私有化机构的一名高管说：“我们致力在今年内完成比雷埃夫斯港的出售。”

“Piraeus is an important connection for China into Europe, and Greece’s EU membership gives us important advantages,” says Li Gang, a European specialist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

中国社会科学院欧洲问题专家李罡说：“比雷埃夫斯港是中国进入欧洲的重要桥梁，希腊的欧盟成员国身份将为我们提供重要的优势。”

Such optimism is predicated on the assumption that the worst-case scenario for Greece is an exit from the eurozone rather than the EU itself.

这种乐观建立在一个假设上，即希腊将要发生的最糟糕情况也就是退出欧元区，而不是退出欧盟。

“China has been working hard to break into Greece’s infrastructure sectors and should follow through with its plans,” says Huang Weiping, an economics professor at Renmin University in Beijing. “Greece could have a brighter future if it left the eurozone and depreciated its currency. China would then be even more interested in Greek assets.”

北京中国人民大学经济学教授黄卫平表示：“中国一直在努力打入希腊的基础设施领域，而且应当进一步落实其计划。希腊可以有一个更加光明的未来，如果它离开欧元区、让本币贬值的话。届时，中国会对希腊资产更感兴趣。”

“Penury will force Greece to leave the eurozone and embrace privatisation,” adds Mr Yan, the construction tycoon. “Privatisation will then turn its golden begging bowl into a golden hall.”

严介和说：“经济困窘将迫使希腊离开欧元区，拥抱私有化。而私有化将把希腊的黄金讨饭碗变成一座金色大厅。”

Additional reporting by Wan Li

万丽补充报道