中國央視評論員抨擊餘額寶是吸血鬼

Funds launched by the likes of Alibaba have been lambasted as parasites that are endangering China’s economic health by a prominent commentator, the latest salvo in a battle that pits new online funds against the traditional banking system they are shaking up.

中國一名知名評論員猛烈抨擊阿里巴巴(Alibaba)等公司推出的基金，稱其是危害中國經濟健康的寄生蟲。新型在線資金正在撼動傳統的銀行體系，在二者之間的角力中，上述抨擊燃起了最新一輪戰火。

The war of words over the weekend is a sign of the growing controversy over the online investment funds, which were launched less than a year ago but have already upended traditional business models in China’s banking system.

上週末期間爆發的口水戰是一個跡象，表明圍繞在線投資基金的爭議越來越大。此類基金問世雖不到一年，但已顛覆了中國傳統銀行體系的商業模式。

Alibaba, the ecommerce company behind the biggest of the funds, shot back at the criticism, saying that its product is providing a service to the economy by putting more money in ordinary people’s hands.

在此類基金中，規模最大的一支是由電子商務公司阿里巴巴支持的。該公司回擊了上述批評意見，稱其產品正通過把更多的錢放到普通人手中而服務於中國經濟。

The Chinese government caps bank deposit interest rates to limit what it fears could be damaging competition in the financial sector. Online investment funds offered by internet companies such as Alibaba and Tencent have blown a hole in that ceiling by giving savers direct access to money-market funds.

中國政府對銀行存款利率設定上限，以抑制金融行業中的競爭，因爲它擔心這種競爭可能具有破壞性。由阿里巴巴和騰訊(Tencent)等互聯網公司提供的在線投資基金，讓儲戶直接與貨幣市場基金對接，從而避開了這個上限。

Thus depositors receive a maximum 0.35 per cent, while those investing in the Alibaba and Tencent funds are more than 15 times better off with an annual rate of 6 per cent – prompting a rechannelling of cash from banks to online funds.

儲戶的活期存款最高只能獲得0.35%的利率，而那些投資於阿里巴巴和騰訊基金的人能夠獲得6%的年收益率，比前者高出15倍以上。這導致現金正從銀行流出，轉而流入在線基金。

Regulators have so far done little to crimp the online funds’ development, viewing them as healthy innovations. But the attack by Niu Wenxin, a financial editor with the state broadcaster China Central Television, suggests they could begin to face tougher opposition. Mr Niu called for the outright prohibition of Alibaba’s Yu’e Bao fund.

監管部門迄今沒有采取什麼行動來打壓在線基金的發展，視其爲健康的創新。但官方的中國中央電視臺(CCTV)證券資訊頻道執行總編輯鈕文新發起的上述抨擊似乎表明，此類基金可能即將遭遇更加強烈的反對。鈕文新呼籲取締阿里巴巴的餘額寶。

“It is attacking the financing costs of Chinese society as a whole and attacking the overall economic safety of China,” he wrote in a blog post published on Friday. “Yu’e Bao is like a vampire that has climbed on to the body of banks.”

“它所衝擊的是中國全社會的融資成本，衝擊的是整個中國的經濟安全。”他在上週五發表的一篇博文中寫道，“餘額寶是趴在銀行身上的‘吸血鬼’。”

With Mr Niu’s comments circulating widely, Alibaba used its official microblog early on Saturday to fight back. In a post calculated to appeal to the general public, Alibaba said its fund was helping to make working people richer and the economy stronger.

在鈕文新的言論得到廣泛轉發之際，阿里巴巴上週六早上利用其官方微博發起反擊。阿里巴巴的博文意在爭取公衆支持，表示其基金正幫助勞動人民變得更加富裕、幫助中國經濟變得更加強大。

“I used to have just two steamed vegetable buns in the morning. Now I can have two meat buns! This motivates me to work that much harder for our motherland’s economy every day,” Alibaba said.

“您沒看到自從有了餘額寶我每天奮發工作的動力更強了嗎？還不是因爲平時每天早上只能吃倆菜包現在已經每天改吃倆肉的了！這讓我每天干勁十足爲祖國經濟至少添磚加瓦多了好幾塊呢！”阿里巴巴的博文表示。