The US economy may be in the doldrums and the eurozone debt crisis is lurching from bad to worse. But for private equity investors looking for returns, China remains the flavour of the moment.

　　眼下，美国经济或许已陷入低谷，欧元区债务危机正愈演愈烈。但对于寻求回报的私人股本投资者而言，中国仍是当下最受热捧的市场。

　　Fundraising for China-focused private equity and venture capital has been unscathed by the global financial market turmoil. Having hit $20.8bn in 2010, fund raising activities are on track for another record year after having reached $18.6bn so far this year, according to the latest figures from Asian Private Equity Review.

　　专注于中国的私人股本基金和风投机构的融资活动在此次全球金融市场动荡中毫发无损。根据《亚洲直接投资评论》(Asia Private Equity Review)的最新数据，2010年，此类融资规模达到208亿美元，而今年迄今已融得186亿美元，有望再次创下新高。

　　And while China’s budding private equity scene has long been dominated by big foreign players – think Carlyle, TPG and Blackstone – homegrown Chinese groups are catching up fast.

　　而尽管长期以来中国刚刚兴起的私人股本行业一直被大型外国基金把持着——例如凯雷(Carlyle)、TPG和黑石(Blackstone)——但中国本土集团正快速迎头赶上。

　　Traditionally accounting for just a sliver of the overall fund-raising market, domestic renminbi-denominated PE funds have become a significant and growing force in China, representing a staggering 67 per cent of total funds raised in 2010, up from 18 per cent in 2007 according to APER.

　　以往仅占整个融资市场很小一部分的中国本土人民币私人股本基金，现已成为中国一支重要、且不断壮大的力量。根据《亚洲直接投资评论》的数据，2010年，这些基金的融资占融资总额的比例达到惊人的67%，而2007年还仅有18%。

　　“The development of locally managed funds in China has become a prominent trend that cannot be overlooked,” Robert Partridge, Ernst & Young’s head of transaction advisory services for Greater China, told beyondbrics.

　　安永(Ernst & Young)大中华区财务交易咨询服务主管庞若柏(Robert Partridge)对本报beyondbrics专栏表示：“中国本土管理基金迅速发展，已成为一种不容忽视的趋势。”

　　The funds’ rise, congruent with Beijing’s efforts to build up “national champions” in industries from banking to steelmaking and oil, has been accelerated by the changing regulatory environment in China.

　　中国监管环境的不断变化，加速了中国本土基金的崛起。这种崛起也与北京方面打造从银行业到炼钢、石油业等各个行业“国家冠军企业”的努力相重合。

　　One advantage that RMB funds – both domestic- and foreign-managed – have over their dollar counterparts is that they can raise money from local investors. And over the past two years, the pool of local capital available has increased sharply as regulators changed rules to allow institutional investors – including government institutions, pension funds, insurance companies – to invest in PE funds.

　　人民币基金（无论是本土管理还是外资管理的基金）相对美元基金的一个优势在于，它们可以从本土投资者手中融资。过去两年，随着监管部门改变了规定，允许机构投资者——包括政府机构、养老基金和保险公司——投资私人股本基金，可融本土资本大幅增加。

　　Meanwhile, the ever growing pool of wealthy Chinese individuals – flushed with cash and in search of diversification – has created another group of investors for local PEs to tap into.

　　此外，现金充裕、寻求多样化投资的中国富人数量越来越多，形成了另一个本土私人股本基金可以开发的投资群体。

　　“There are clear advantages to RMB funds,” Sam Robinson, head of global investment at SVG Advisers, told beyondbrics. “RMB are not subject to as many regulations as dollar funds – such as exchange controls. They can move more quickly on deals because they are not hampered by the burden of foreign investment approvals and can invest in regulated industries that foreign PEs cannot.”

　　SVG Advisers全球投资部门主管萨姆?罗宾逊(Sam Robinson)对beyondbrics专栏表示：“人民币基金拥有明显的优势。人民币所受的监管约束不像美元基金那么多——例如外汇管制。由于不受外国投资批准的束缚，并可以投资外国私人股本基金无法投资的受监管行业，它们可以更加迅速地推进交易。”

　　The flipside though according to Robinson is that RMB funds have unclear legal structures and unclear liquidity and exit strategies.

　　不过，罗宾逊表示，从另一方面看，人民币基金的法律架构较模糊，流动性和退出战略也不明晰。

　　So what does the rise of homegrown Chinese funds mean for foreign players? Will this reduce investment opportunities and returns for them?

　　那么，中国本土基金的崛起对于外国基金而言意味着什么？这会减少它们的投资机会和回报率吗？

　　“The challenge for the global firms is that they will be competing against the ‘favoured son’,” said Partridge from E&Y. “A company in China looking to raise money may see a RMB investor as having less closing hurdles, as well as ease in exiting.”

　　安永的庞若柏表示：“跨国基金公司面临的挑战在于，它们将要与‘宠儿’相抗衡。寻求融资的中国公司也许会认为人民币投资者的交易障碍较少，也较容易退出。”

　　Foreign PEs, for their part, have no plans to sit idly from the sidelines. Wall Street names that have launched RMB funds so far this year include:

　　对于外国私人股本而言，它们不会无动于衷地坐视这一切。今年迄今已推出人民币基金的华尔街基金公司包括：

　　- Blackstone, which raised RMB 5bn in April

　　- 黑石，今年4月融资50亿元人民币

　　- Carlyle, which completed in July a second close of its RMB 5bn fund at RMB3.2bn

　　- 凯雷，其规模达50亿元的人民币基金于今年7月完成了第二轮融资，融资额为32亿元人民币

　　- Morgan Stanley, which announced in May plans to raise RMB 1.5bn with Hangzhou Industrial and Commercial Trust. The new fund will focus on investment opportunities in the province of Zhejiang

　　- 摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)，5月份宣布与杭州工商信托投资股份有限公司(Hangzhou Industrial & Commercial Trust)联合融资15亿元人民币。这只新基金将专注于浙江省的投资机会。

　　- Goldman Sachs, which is seeking to raise RMB 5bn for a vehicle that it is forming in partnership with Beijing city government

　　- 高盛(Goldman Sachs)，试图为它与北京市政府合资组建的一家基金融资50亿元人民币

　　In all, there are 89 foreign PE firms and 394 local PE firms operating in China at the moment, according to APER.

　　《亚洲直接投资评论》的数据显示，目前总计有89家外国私人股本公司和394家本土私人股本公司在华运营。

　　The attractions of China for foreign private equity firms are obvious. With the boom in leveraged buy-outs in Europe and the US over following the 2008 Lehman crisis, many see opportunities for deal making in China – where the (relatively) robust stock market has produced many a profitable exit.

　　中国对外国私人股本公司的吸引力显而易见。随着2008年雷曼(Lehman)危机之后欧美杠杆收购繁荣的终结，许多人看到了在华撮合交易的机遇——中国表现（相对）强劲的股市产生了许多获利退出的机会。

　　“The principal exit for PEs continues to be IPOs,” Ian Coleman of PwC told beyondbrics. “There is little secondary buy-outs. Also because of Chinese banking rules on gearing, PEs in China can’t leverage to the hill to make money from financial restructuring. So they end up functioning more like venture capital – the majority of deals are non-control minority stake, pre-IPO type.”

　　普华永道(PwC)的伊恩?科尔曼(Ian Coleman)向本报beyondbrics专栏表示：“私人股本的主要退出方式仍然是首次公开发行(IPO)，很少有二次收购。同时由于中国银行业对杠杆融资的规定，中国的私人股本不可能通过大幅举债从财务重组中获利。因此它们最终的运作更像风险资本——大部分交易是收购没有控制权的少数股份，所谓的IPO前融资模式。”

　　In this context, foreign funds – whose investor base tends to be skewed towards institutions rather than high net worth individuals – does offer an advantage over homegrown ones, said Robinson from SVG.

　　SVG的罗宾逊表示，在这种背景下，外国基金的确比本土基金拥有优势。外国基金的投资者群体往往偏于机构，而不是高净值人士。

　　“Dollar funds will always have a place because when you are trying to grow a busines, you want long term investors,” he said. “Money from wealthy individuals can go in a year or two but institutions will take a longer term view.”

　　罗宾逊称：“美元基金总会占有一席之地，因为当你努力发展企业时，你总是希望拥有长期投资者。富人们可能只投资一两年，但机构们的眼光放得更远。”

　　Still, given the rapid influx of capital and increasing competition for deals and rising valuations in some sectors, questions are being asked about whether the Chinese PE market has not reached its peak.

　　尽管如此，鉴于资本迅速涌入、交易竞争日趋激烈以及一些行业的估值不断上升，对于中国私人股本市场是否见顶也产生了疑问。

　　Ernst & Young – like others PE players beyondbrics has spoken to – remains upbeat about the sector’s prospects. As it writes in its latest report on private equity in China:

　　与beyondbrics采访的其它私人股本公司一样，安永仍然对该行业的前景感到乐观。下面是安永就中国私人股本写的最新报告：

　　“The recent sell-offs in the public equities markets afforded nimble firms an opportunity to capitalise on depressed valuations and enabled significant take-private transactions. These same dynamics, however, limited exit opportunities for many firms, especially those seeking an IPO.”

　　“最近的股市下跌为一些精明的公司提供了利用企业估值下降赚钱的机会，并让一些公司能够进行重大的私有化交易。然而，同样的势头限制了许多公司的退出机会，尤其是那些正寻求IPO的公司。”

　　“The rapid rise in activity has many observers asking if China’s market has reached unsustainable levels. Indeed the rapid influx of capital has led to increasing competition for deals and rising valuations in some sectors.”

　　“交易活动的快速增加让许多观察人士质疑中国市场是否达到了不可持续的水平。实际上，资本迅速涌入已经导致交易竞争日趋激烈和某些行业的估值日益上升。”

　　“Despite these near-term challenges, however the investment thesis remains intact. China is still in the very early stages of transitioning from its manufacturing origins to a consumer-driven model and with PE penetration just a fraction of that in developing markets, the opportunity to participate in the country’s growth trajectory is compelling.”

　　“尽管存在这些短期的挑战，但投资理念仍然保持不变。中国仍处于从制造业源头向消费驱动经济模式转变的初期阶段，而鉴于私人股本在中国的渗透率与新兴市场整体水平相比微乎其微，参与中国增长轨迹的机遇不容质疑。”

　　There’s no doubt that there is a lot of buzz going around private equity investments in China. Whether the returns will continue to live up to the hype remains to be seen.

　　毫无疑问，围绕中国私人股本投资会有许多兴奋的讨论。而回报是否能与宣传相符，还有待观察。