科技資訊:小心攪局者華爲!

A made-in-China problem is hurting telecom-equipment makers. Investors in smartphones and network equipment companies should listen carefully.

一箇中國製造的問題正在傷害全球電信設備製造商。持有智能手機和網絡設備製造商股票的投資者要注意了。

Ericsson, the biggest telecom-equipment maker by market share, saw second-quarter profits fall 63% from a year earlier. Alcatel-Lucent said it will miss its 2012 profit target and China's ZTE warned first-half profits could be down 60% to 80%.

按市場份額計算，全球最大的電信設備製造商愛立信(Ericsson)二季度利潤同比下滑63%。阿爾卡特朗訊(Alcatel-Lucent)表示將無法實現2012年的利潤目標。中國的中興通訊股份有限公司(ZTE, 簡稱：中興通訊)發佈盈利預警，稱上半年利潤可能下滑60%至80%。

The disruptive force of China's Huawei is a big factor. The company's rapid rise-from obscurity a decade ago to the second-biggest company in the sector now-has been built on less-expensive equipment that requires cheaper and less-frequent upgrades. Huawei's profits soared to almost $4 billion at their peak in 2010 from $384 million in 2003.

中國華爲技術有限公司(Huawei)產生的破壞性力量是導致上述現象的一大因素。華爲的迅速崛起是構築在該公司生產的那些相對便宜的設備上的。相對而言，這些設備不需要頻繁升級，且升級成本較低。華爲的利潤從2003年的3.84億美元迅速飆升至2010年高峯期的近40億美元，而十年前華爲還只是一家默默無聞的企業，如今它已經成爲全球第二大電信設備製造商。

Now though, most of the world is already kitted out, Huawei's own easy-to-upgrade equipment means the build-out of fourth-generation telecom networks will not be a major profit driver. The rise of smartphones has hit revenue for service providers, equipment vendors' main customers. Huawei is a private company but disclosed last week that first-half operating profits were down 22% from a year earlier.

不過現在，由於世界上大多數地區所需的電信設備已經部署到位，華爲製造的那些易於升級的設備意味着第四代電信網絡建設不會成爲拉動其利潤增長的主要業務。智能手機的興起衝擊了電信服務提供商的收入，而電信服務提供商又正好是設備製造商的主要客戶。華爲是一家非上市企業，但它在上週披露其上半年運營利潤同比下滑22%。

The question now for Huawei is how to dial up a new source of growth-and that could lead to disruption elsewhere.

對於華爲來說，眼下的問題在於如何找到一個新的業務增長點，而這有可能在其它領域產生破壞性影響。

Huawei has already moved into smartphones, with cheaper handsets that put pressure on companies like Taiwan's HTC. It is also trying to shift into network equipment, competing with Cisco Systems and Hewlett-Packard to sell routers and other hardware, as well as services, to governments and businesses.

華爲已經進入智能手機市場，其生產的更爲廉價的智能手機給臺灣的宏達國際電子股份有限公司(HTC)等企業造成了壓力。華爲也試圖轉戰進入網絡設備市場，向政府和企業出售路由器和其它硬件及服務，這使它與思科系統(Cisco Systems)以及惠普公司(Hewlett-Packard)成了競爭對手。

Following the playbook that worked in telecom equipment, the Chinese company is aiming to gain market share by undercutting competitors on price. It has already made ripples. Its smartphone sales in 2011 jumped 500% to 20 million, and the company is aiming to triple that total in 2012. Cisco CEO John Chambers pointed to Huawei as its toughest competitor.

華爲正在效法它在電信設備市場的成功做法，打算通過低價銷售產品來打壓競爭對手以獲取市場份額。這一做法已經產生了影響。2011年華爲的智能手機銷量躍升500%至2,000萬部，該公司打算在2012年將上述銷量增加兩倍。思科首席執行長(CEO)錢伯斯(John Chambers)將華爲列爲自己公司最強大的競爭對手。

Both the smartphones and network sectors are fiercely contested. Leaders like Apple and Cisco boast an edge in technology and brand recognition, and have bundles of cash. Taking a bite out of their market share will be a formidable task. But Huawei has shown it picks up quickly when opportunity calls; investors in adjacent sectors should pay close attention.

智能手機和網絡設備市場的競爭均非常激烈。像蘋果(Apple)和思科這樣的市場引領企業在技術和品牌知名度上佔有優勢，且現金儲備殷實。從他們手中搶佔市場份額是一項艱鉅的任務。但華爲已經證明，只要機會出現，它會迅速抓住。相關領域的投資者應該對此密切關注。