英國不能出售自己通向榮耀的道路

Since Britain voted to leave the EU, there has been a tendency to be downbeat about the country’s economic and industrial prospects. The decision by the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank to spend ￡24bn on buying Arm Holdings seems in this light a welcome relief.

自從英國公投決定退出歐盟以來，出現了一種對英國經濟和工業前景感到悲觀的傾向。在這種背景下，日本綜合性企業軟銀(SoftBank)斥資240億英鎊收購ARM控股(Arm Holdings)的決定，似乎提供了一種可喜的安慰。

Ministers have hailed the deal as a sign of confidence in the UK as a place to do business. In the words of Philip Hammond, the new chancellor, it “shows that Britain has lost none of its allure to international investors”.

英國的大臣們把該交易贊爲對英國經商環境有信心的信號。用新任財政大臣菲利普•哈蒙德(Philip Hammond)的話說，這“表明英國絲毫未失去對國際投資者的吸引力”。

However, Theresa May’s government has made vague noises about the need for a new industrial policy. In this context, a bid on this scale that captures a star in the tech firmament has implications that deserve wider debate. The deal raises questions about Britain’s corporate culture and governance. Arm is a unique asset in a somewhat threadbare UK tech landscape. The decision to sell raises questions about whether boards in general remain too focused on quick returns to shareholders, rather than developing Britain’s few world-class companies for the longer term.

然而，特里薩•梅(Theresa May)政府已經含糊地表示過出臺新工業政策的必要。在這種背景下，以如此高的價格收購一家科技業明星企業的交易，具有值得廣泛討論的意義。該交易對英國企業文化和治理提出了問題。ARM在英國乏善可陳的科技領域一枝獨秀。出售ARM的決定引出了一個問題：總的來說，公司董事會是否仍然過於注重股東的快速回報、而不是長遠地發展英國屈指可數的世界級企業。

The attraction of Arm for SoftBank is not in doubt. The UK company offers the conglomerate an entrée into the design of sophisticated chips for smartphones and mobile devices. Part of the appeal is to make the Japanese a leading player in a new growing market: the “internet of things”.

ARM對軟銀的吸引力毋庸置疑。這家英國公司給軟銀提供了一塊進入智能手機和移動設備複雜芯片設計領域的敲門磚。部分吸引力在於，ARM可使這家日本企業在“物聯網”這塊全新的增長市場成爲領軍企業。

Recent foreign bids and takeovers of British companies have been stigmatised as little more than vehicles for stripping assets, tax arbitrage and carrying off intellectual property. While one cannot know how the Arm deal will turn out, SoftBank’s intentions seem a great deal more benign. It intends to create 1,500 new jobs at Arm’s 4,000-strong Cambridge headquarters, which would represent a substantial investment in new capacity.

最近外國企業對英國企業的競標和收購被指責爲不過是爲了剝離資產、稅收套利以及搶走知識產權。儘管人們無法知道ARM交易最終結局如何，但軟銀的意圖似乎善意得多。它打算在ARM的劍橋總部（擁有4000名員工）新增1500個工作崗位，這代表着實質性投資新產能。

The deal should face few regulatory obstacles. Any potential objections on competition grounds look surmountable. Although SoftBank owns mobile phone networks in Japan and the US, it has no involvement in the manufacture of phones or devices. There is no overlap between SoftBank and Arm’s business. Nor is there any obvious concern about national security.

該交易幾乎不會面臨監管障礙。任何可能以競爭爲由的反對看起來都是可以克服的。儘管軟銀在日本和美國擁有移動電話網絡，但它從未涉足手機和移動設備製造。軟銀和ARM的業務沒有重疊。該交易也未明顯涉及國家安全。

The Japanese group does have heavy debts. After the deal it will have net borrowings of more than $100bn. These could in theory reduce its capacity or willingness to invest.

這家日本集團確實背有沉重的債務。在該交易完成後，它的借款淨額將超過1000億美元。從理論上看，這會降低其財力或投資意願。

Ultimately, the concern is less about the identity of the purchaser and more about what motivates a world-beating UK company to surrender voluntarily its independence. Arm will not gain any compelling commercial or industrial benefit from its ownership by SoftBank. There was no sign that its current shareholders were unwilling to finance its expansionary aims. Arm had reportedly spurned earlier approaches.

歸根結底，真正的關切與買家身份沒什麼關係，而在於是什麼原因促使一家世界一流的英國公司自願放棄其獨立性。ARM不會從變身一家軟銀旗下公司中得到任何無法抗拒的商業或行業利益。沒有跡象表明其目前的股東不願爲其擴張目標出資。據報道，ARM此前拒絕了多次收購要約。

This plays into a wider concern that too often in Britain, directors are quick to pursue takeovers rather than sticking to the grind of organic expansion. It reflects the prevailing ideology of shareholder primacy; one that overemphasises the importance of near-term share price performance. Bosses see their job to be about buying and selling assets. Ideally, they should run a business that adds value primarily through the goods and services it provides.

這就引出一個更廣泛的問題：在英國，太多情況下公司的董事們會很快尋求收購，而非堅持紮紮實實的有機擴張。這反映出了股東至上的普遍觀念。該觀念過於強調短期內股價表現的重要性。老闆認爲自己的工作是買賣資產。但在理想情況下，他們經營企業應該主要通過提供商品和服務實現增值。

For the British government, SoftBank’s decision is a welcome shot in the arm at a time of uncertainty about the UK’s status as a destination for inward investment. But any post-Brexit celebration should be tempered by realism. Britain cannot sell its way to glory. If the economy is to be rebalanced away from financial services, the country must become better at nurturing the strategic businesses it creates.

對英國政府而言，在英國作爲外來投資目的地的地位充滿變數之際，軟銀的決定是一針受到歡迎的強心劑。但在後退歐時代，任何慶祝都應該從現實出發加以剋制。英國不能出售自己通向榮耀的道路。如果英國經濟需要重新調整、減少對金融服務業的倚重，英國必須變得更善於培養其締造的戰略性企業。