用"新加坡模式"解决中国公司上市问题

Alibaba has finally announced its plan to list its shares in New York, after months of speculation about the location. This is a blow to Hong Kong, which had courted the Chinese tech company but was unwilling to change its rules to allow founder Jack Ma to keep control of the company after the listing. But this is also a blow to Chinese investors, who will yet again be denied an opportunity to invest in one of their country's most successful firms.

数月来，外界一直在猜测阿里巴巴(Alibaba)将在何地上市，日前该公司最终公布了在纽约上市的计划。这对香港来说是一个打击，香港曾力争吸引这家中国科技公司在自己的交易所上市，但香港不愿改变原有规定，以便使阿里巴巴创始人马云在公司上市后仍可以掌控公司。但这对中国投资者来说也是一个打击。中国投资者将又一次被剥夺投资中国最成功的公司之一的机会。

The problem is that so many Chinese companies are forced to list overseas because it is still so difficult to win permission to issue shares on the mainland. That makes the deals a lose-lose for investors everywhere. Chinese citizens can't buy offshore shares because of the mainland's capital controls. Meanwhile, foreign investors technically don't buy the company, either. To circumvent foreign-ownership restrictions, Chinese firms use the so-called variable-interest entity (VIE) structure. With the VIE structure, offshore shell companies have contractual claims to the revenues from, but no actual ownership of, the Chinese firms.

问题是，由于仍很难获准在内地上市，太多的中国公司被迫赴海外上市。这就使此类上市对各地的投资者来说都是一种“双输”。鉴于内地的资本管制，中国公民不能购买境外上市公司的股票。与此同时，外国投资者理论上讲也不会买这类公司的股票。为规避对外国所有权的限制，中国公司使用所谓的可变利益实体(VIE)结构。在VIE结构下，境外空壳公司按合同规定拥有这类上市中国公司的收入，但没有实际的所有权。

Fortunately, a solution is finally coming into sight, from an unexpected quarter: Singapore. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) in November reached an agreement with Singaporean authorities to allow Chinese companies to list directly in the Lion City without first setting up an offshore holding company. If this becomes a template for other jurisdictions-and a seed of further reforms in China-investors everywhere stand to benefit.

幸运的是，终于有一种解决办法出现在人们的视野中，这个方法来自一个人们意想不到的地方：新加坡。中国证券监督管理委员会（简称：证监会）去年11月与新加坡有关部门达成了一项协议，允许中国公司不必预先设立境外控股公司即可直接在新加坡上市。如果这种模式成为其他管辖区的一个模板（以及中国进一步改革的源动力），各地的投资者都有望获益。

The Singapore Solution addresses several serious flaws with the VIE overseas-listing model. First and foremost, it clarifies regulatory authority over the listed companies by specifying that the CSRC will retain jurisdiction. A major problem with overseas listed Chinese companies is that because they are neither wholly Chinese nor wholly foreign, regulators have struggled to determine whose laws the firms must follow and who will enforce them.

新加坡模式解决了VIE海外上市模式的多种严重缺陷。首先，它规定中国证监会将保留管辖权，进而明确了对上市公司的监管权。海外上市中国公司的一个主要问题是，由于这类公司既非中国独资也非外商独资，监管机构难以确定公司应该遵守哪边的法律，以及该由哪一方执法。

The offshore holding companies are not subject to Chinese regulation, and Beijing has been slow to cooperate with foreign regulators investigating Chinese companies that it considers domestic. Because the Singapore Solution makes it a requirement under Chinese law that companies comply with the laws of the jurisdiction where they list, this method also resolves the thorny sovereignty issues that arise when foreign regulators try to enforce foreign laws against Chinese companies on Chinese soil.

境外控股公司不受中国监管规定的限制，而且外国监管机构对被北京视为境内公司的中国公司进行调查时，北京迟迟不与之合作。由于新加坡模式依中国的法律要求公司必须遵守上市地所在的管辖区的法律，这种方法还可以解决棘手的主权问题。外国监管机构试图在中国的土地上依照外国法律对中国公司执法时，可能产生这样的主权问题。

Another flaw with the VIE model is that the domestic Chinese company and the overseas-listed entity are technically not the same enterprise, and are only tenuously connected. This makes it impossible to do a traditional secondary listing onshore, leaving domestic investors permanently cut off from the opportunity to buy the shares.

VIE模式的另外一个缺陷是，中国境内公司和海外上市实体理论上讲不是同一家公司，只有一点关系。这样，就不可能在境内进行传统的第二上市，导致国内投资者永远被剥夺了买进这类股票的机会。

By allowing the Chinese enterprise to list abroad without a VIE, the Singapore Solution opens the door to secondary listings on China's stock exchanges. This would finally allow local investors to benefit from the growth of domestic companies. Indeed, this could open the door to the eventual 'return' of such firms to China if, as the domestic financial markets grow, it becomes possible to use the proceeds of local share issues to buy out foreign investors.

新加坡解决方案使中资企业不必以VIE结构在海外上市，从而为它们打开了在中国证券交易所实现第二上市的大门。该解决方案最终可使中国大陆投资者因国内企业的增长而受益。实际上，随着国内金融市场的成长，如果用本地股票发行所得悉数回购外国投资者手中股票成为可能的话，它可能还将为这类公司最终回归大陆股市打开大门。

The challenge now is for authorities in China and the main overseas listing venues for Chinese companies in Hong Kong and the U.S. to find ways to apply the basic Singapore model to their own markets. This will not necessarily be easy, but it is certainly achievable.

目前的难点是，中国政府部门和中资企业在香港和美国的主要海外上市地要想办法将新加坡基本模式应用到它们自己的市场。这可能并不容易，但肯定可以实现。

China could start by allowing Chinese companies to list directly overseas after gaining approval from CSRC. The vetting process could take account of Beijing's traditional concerns about overseas listing of companies possessing state secrets or with disreputable management.

中国最初可能会允许中资企业获证监会批准后直接赴海外上市。审核程序可能会考虑到中国政府对那些了解国家机密或管理不善的企业赴海外上市的顾虑。

The heart of the Singapore Solution is to make the CSRC the primary gatekeeper and regulator of overseas listed Chinese companies, charged with the responsibility to ensure that these companies comply with Chinese and foreign laws. The CSRC might ask foreign authorities such as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to help them meet their responsibilities, including sending inspectors to work with the CSRC to regulate these companies. Chinese regulators will likely reserve the right to punish miscreants, and the SEC and PCAOB should be happy to let them do so if the result is that American standards are met.

新加坡解决方案的核心是让中国证监会充当海外上市中资企业的主要把关者和监管者，负责确保这些中资企业遵守中国和外国法律。中国证监会可能会请求美国证券交易委员会(简称：SEC)和美国上市公司会计监管委员会(Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, 简称：PCAOB)帮助它履行责任，包括派遣调查人员配合中国证监会监管这些公司。中国监管部门可能会保留对违规企业进行惩罚的权利。如果惩罚可使企业达到美国标准的话，SEC和PCAOB应该会乐于让中国证监会这么做。

Other reforms might be more difficult. Beijing needs to allow a greater number of companies to accept foreign investment. The Third Plenum reforms last year promised liberalization in the rules on foreign investment in e-commerce and education, two of the most popular sectors that use the VIE structure. Premier Li Keqiang reiterated the commitment in his remarks to the National People's Congress on March 5. Allowing foreign investment in e-commerce and education would remove the need for the VIE structure for companies in those industries.

其他改革项目可能难度更大。中国政府要允许更多公司接受外国投资。去年的第十八届三中全会承诺放松电子商务和教育领域的外商投资限制，它们是使用VIE结构的最普遍的两个领域。中国总理李克强在3月5日全国人大会议上发表讲话时重申了这一承诺。允许外资进入电商和教育领域，意味着这些行业内的企业不需要再使用VIE结构。

The Singapore Solution will require some attitude adjustment from regulators all around. But the alternative-booting Chinese companies off foreign exchanges while denying them the opportunity to list at home-is no alternative at all. After a troublesome several years concerning these listings, regulators should seize on the most promising model to date for how to move forward.

新加坡解决方案将要求所有相关监管机构进行某种态度上的调整。但替代方案――把中资企业关在外国交易所大门之外，同时剥夺它们在本土上市的机会――根本不是办法。多年来中资公司的这种上市麻烦不断，监管者应紧抓住迄今为止最有前途的这种新加坡模式来谋求进步。