Ant Financial’s $1.2bn takeover of MoneyGram has drawn fresh criticism from US lawmakers who say the acquisition of the US cash-transfer group by an affiliate of China’s Alibaba and the Chinese government poses a national security threat.
蚂蚁金服(Ant Financial)以12亿美元收购速汇金(MoneyGram)的交易再次招致美国议员的批评，他们称由中国阿里巴巴(Alibaba)和中国政府的关联公司收购这家美国汇款集团将对美国国家安全构成威胁。
In letters addressed to Steven Mnuchin, US Treasury Secretary, obtained by the Financial Times, Republican senators Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran said the Beijing-backed acquisition of MoneyGram could hurt America’s financial infrastructure.在英国《金融时报》(Financial Times)拿到的写给美国财政部长史蒂文姆努钦(Steven Mnuchin)的信中，共和党参议员帕特罗伯茨(Pat Roberts)和杰瑞莫兰(Jerry Moran)称，由北京方面支持的收购速汇金的交易有可能损害美国的金融基础设施。Mounting opposition on the hill against Chinese acquisitions of US assets poses a dilemma for Jack Ma, the billionaire behind Alibaba, who has been positioning himself as a close friend of US President Donald Trump.美国国会日益反对中国收购美国资产，这使得马云(Jack Ma)陷入两难境地。马云是电商巨头阿里巴巴背后的亿万富翁，他近来把自己定位为美国总统唐纳德特朗普(Donald Trump)的密友。Last week, the founder of the Chinese ecommerce giant promised to bring 1m small US small businesses on to Alibaba’s platform in an effort to boost US exports to China. He has previously pledged to create 1m US jobs, a move lauded by Mr Trump.上周，这位阿里巴巴的创始人承诺让美国100万家小企业入驻阿里巴巴平台，以促进美国对华出口。他之前曾承诺在美国创造100万个就业机会，此举受到特朗普的称赞。Despite Mr Ma’s efforts to curry favour with the US president, several US lawmakers across party lines have requested an exhaustive review of the deal by the Committee on Foreign Investments in the US.尽管马云为讨好特朗普付出了努力，但美国两党中有多位议员要求美国外国投资委员会(Committee on Foreign Investments)对这笔交易进行详尽审查。The committee led by the US Treasury, which brings together officials from other departments including the Pentagon and has the power to veto deals, is expected to issue a verdict on the transaction by midsummer, according to people briefed about the review.该委员会由美国财政部牵头，集结了包括五角大楼(Pentagon)在内的其他多个部门的官员，有权否决交易。据了解审查过程的知情人士表示，该委员会预计将在仲夏对该交易做出裁定。Mr Roberts said the Chinese takeover of MoneyGram “should trigger no less concern than if a Chinese company were seeking to take control of a large, well-known bank”.罗伯茨称，中资收购速汇金“引发的担忧不亚于中国企业寻求控制一家美国知名大型银行”。He added that the deal “highlights the inequity between US and Chinese companies when it comes to international acquisitions...there is virtually no chance that a US financial services company would be permitted to acquire a Chinese [rival]”.他补充称，该交易“突显了美中企业之间在跨国收购方面的不平等……事实上美国金融服务公司不可能被允许收购中国（竞争对手）。”Mr Moran said that handing over financial data of US citizens, including a large number of US military personnel, to a Chinese company partly owned by Chinese government funds merited careful evaluation.莫兰称，把美国公民（包括大量军事人员）的金融数据交给一家部分归中国政府基金所有的中国企业，值得仔细评估。Both senators are from Kansas, the headquarters of Euronet, a rival money transfer company that failed to gatecrash Ant’s deal with MoneyGram. Last month Euronet said its proposed offer for MoneyGram had greater certainty of completion as it did not require Cfius approval.这两位参议员都来自堪萨斯州，这里是另一家汇款公司Euronet的总部所在地。Euronet未能成功搅局蚂蚁金服对速汇金的收购。上月，Euronet表示，其拟议的对速汇金的收购完成的可能性更大，因为Euronet不需要获得美国外国投资委员会的批准。MoneyGram and Ant have strongly rejected such criticism numerous times.速汇金和蚂蚁金服已多次强烈驳斥这些批评。Alex Holmes, chief executive of MoneyGram, told the FT that allegations that Ant’s takeover posed a threat to US national security or a risk to the safety of US citizens’ personal data were untrue.速汇金首席执行官亚历克斯霍姆斯(Alex Holmes)告诉英国《金融时报》，有人称蚂蚁金服的收购对美国国家安全构成威胁或让美国公民的个人数据安全面临风险，这些说法是不正确的。He also added that the recent trade deal between the US and China, where Beijing pledged access for rating agencies and credit card companies, indicated that the Trump administration welcomed Chinese investment in America.他还补充称，最近中美之间的贸易协议表明，特朗普政府欢迎中国在美投资。根据中美贸易协议，中国承诺允许评级机构和信用卡公司进入中国。“Investment reciprocity between China and the US is not an issue in this transaction. The money transfer industry in China is open to foreign competition, and MoneyGram already has a robust business in China as do other money transfer companies,” Mr Holmes said.
霍姆斯表示：“在这笔交易中，中美之间的投资互惠不存在问题。中国的汇款行业向外国竞争对手开放，速汇金已在中国拥有稳健的业务，就像其他汇款公司一样。“Thanks to President Trump’s engagement with China, our two countries are on track to building an even stronger economic relationship. Investments in the US, like the one Ant will make in our company, are critical to creating new jobs and increasing economic growth in our country.”“在特朗普总统与中国合作的氛围下，我们两国将构建更加强大的经济联系。与蚂蚁金服即将对我们公司做出的投资一样，中国对美国的投资对于在我国创造新的就业和提高经济增长至关重要。”MoneyGram shareholders will vote on the deal on Tuesday.速汇金股东将于周二就这笔交易进行投票表决。