泰康人寿成苏富比第一大股东

A Chinese life assurer headed by a relative of Mao Zedong has become the largest single shareholder in Sotheby’s, taking a 13.5 per cent stake in the auction house.

由毛泽东的一个亲属执掌的一家中国寿险公司已成为苏富比(Sotheby’s)的最大单一股东，买下这家拍卖行13.5%的股份。

Taikang Life, one of China’s largest insurance groups with net assets of Rmb33bn ($5bn), revealed yesterday that it had paid $230m for 8m shares in the New York-based auction house. The shares were purchased on the open market during June and July.

中国最大保险集团之一、净资产达到330亿元人民币（合50亿美元）的泰康人寿(Taikang Life)昨日透露，它已斥资2.30亿美元购得总部位于纽约的苏富比800万股票。这些股票是在6月和7月期间在公开市场上买入的。

Cheng Dongsheng, who founded and runs the life assurer, is a grandson-in-law of Chairman Mao and the largest shareholder of China Guardian Auctions, a leading art auction house.

创立并执掌泰康人寿的陈东升，是毛泽东的一个外孙女婿。他是领先艺术品拍卖公司——中国嘉德国际拍卖(China Guardian Auctions)的最大股东。

Several world-famous works have been sold to Chinese art buyers recently, the most high-profile of which was the sale of Modigliani’s “Reclining Nude” to Liu Yiqian, a private collector, in November for $170.4m. It was the second-highest price for a work sold at auction to date.

近期有几幅世界著名的作品被中国艺术品买家买下，其中最引人注目的是去年11月私人收藏家刘益谦以1.704亿美元买下莫迪利亚尼(Modigliani)的《斜卧的裸女》(Reclining Nude)。那是史上第二高的艺术作品拍价。

China’s insurers have a similar appetite for overseas acquisitions. Anbang Insurance became a global name in 2014 with the $2bn purchase of the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York. In March its $14bn bid for Starwood Hotels & Resorts stalled following speculation about regulatory challenges.

中国的保险公司对海外收购有类似的胃口。安邦保险(Anbang Insurance) 2014年扬名全球，当时该公司斥资20亿美元收购纽约华尔道夫酒店(Waldorf Astoria hotel)。今年3月，安邦以140亿美元收购喜达屋酒店及度假村(Starwood Hotels & Resorts)的交易陷入停顿，此前有猜测认为，这笔交易将遭遇监管挑战。

Between January and June Chinese companies agreed to $121.1bn in cross-border deals, according to data from Thomson Reuters, more than the record for a full year set in 2015.

汤森路透(Thomson Reuters)的数据显示，今年1至6月，中资企业达成了1211亿美元跨境交易，超过2015年创下的全年纪录。

Taikang said a “positive view” of Sotheby’s business was the primary reason for the purchase in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. It had “provided suggestions” for board nominations at the auction house, it said, noting that “such nomination could include persons associated with [Taikang Life]”.

泰康人寿在提交美国证交会(SEC)的监管申报文件中表示，对苏富比业务的“积极看法”是购买其股票的首要原因。这家中国寿险公司表示，它已就苏富比的董事会任命“提供了一些建议”，指出“此类提名可能包括（泰康人寿）相关人士”。

Tad Smith, Sotheby’s president, said the group “warmly welcomed” Taikang’s support of its “strategic initiatives”.

苏富比总裁塔德•史密斯(Tad Smith)表示，该集团“热烈欢迎”泰康人寿支持其“战略举措”。

Mr Chen’s fame comes not just from Taikang and his wife’s ancestry, but also from his prominence as an art dealer and aesthete.

陈东升的名气不仅来自泰康人寿和太太的血统，也来自他作为艺术品经销商和审美者的名声。

In 1999 he founded the first government-run auction house to specialise in Chinese art and antiques.

1993年，他创办了第一家官办拍卖行，专门经手中国文物艺术品。

Sales of Chinese ceramics and paintings have buoyed Sotheby’s revenues in Asia. Last week the auction house reported 22 per cent year-on-year growth to $461.5m for the region during the first six months of the year.

中国陶瓷和绘画的销售提振了苏富比的亚洲营收。上周这家拍卖行报告，今年上半年亚洲营收同比增长22%，至4.615亿美元。