纽约超越香港成为大陆大型IPO首选地

The initial public offering of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., slated for September, could mark 2014 as the most successful ever for Chinese listings on U.S. exchanges.

阿里巴巴集团(Alibaba Group)将于9月份进行首次公开募股(IPO)，这可能令2014年成为中国公司赴海外上市最成功的一年。

High valuations for tech stocks offered by U.S. investors have prompted a flurry of new Chinese listings on Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange. This has helped the U.S. outpace Hong Kong for cross-border IPOs for the first time in the past five years, according to data compiled by law firm Baker & McKenzie.

美国投资者对科技类股的高估值促使大量中国公司赴纳斯达克(Nasdaq)和纽约证交所(New York Stock Exchange)上市。据贝克・麦坚时国际律师事务所(Baker & McKenzie, )编制的数据，过去五年，得益于这种趋势，美国已经首次超越香港成为大陆公司最热门的境外上市地。

'There are better valuations for tech companies and software and app developers in the U.S. The [price-to-earnings] ratio is a lot more generous,' said Elsa Chan, a leading IPO partner with Baker & McKenzie in Hong Kong.

贝克・麦坚时国际律师事务所驻香港的主要IPO合伙人陈世芝(Elsa Chan)称，美国市场对科技公司、软件公司和应用软件开发商的估值更高，认可的市盈率也更高。

A deeper understanding of tech stocks among U.S. funds and retail shareholders with decades of experience investing in the sector has injected confidence into earnings growth to support high initial valuations. A thirst for exposure to one of the world's fastest growing major economies doesn't hurt either.

美国基金和散户投资者对科技类股有更深刻的理解，他们在该领域的投资有几十年的经验，因此对科技公司的利润增长也更有信心，这为高估值提供了支撑。另外，美国投资者渴望分享全球增长最快的大型经济体的经济成果的心态也推动了大陆科技公司赴美上市的热潮。

Last year Hong Kong exchanges had $15 billion of listings for offshore companies, driven by $14.5 billion of business from China. The U.S. fared poorly by comparison, drawing in only $5 billion of offshore IPOs and a paltry $900 million in Chinese business.

去年，在香港交易所进行的境外公司上市交易达150亿美元，其中中国大陆公司为145亿美元。相比之下，美国市场的表现逊色，只吸引到50亿美元的离岸IPO交易，而中资公司在美国的IPO交易只有区区9亿美元。

Already the trend has reversed in the first half of 2014. U.S. exchanges had $8 billion of cross-border IPOs, nearly tripling the amount from the same point last year. Of that, IPOs by Chinese companies on U.S. exchanges drew in $3.5 billion for the first half of the year. This compares with just $6 billion for Hong Kong exchanges so far in 2014, all of which came from China.

这一趋势在2014年上半年出现逆转。在美国交易所进行的跨境IPO交易达80亿美元，是上年同期的近三倍。其中，中资公司今年上半年在美国交易所进行了35亿美元的IPO。相比之下，香港交易所在2014年截至目前只吸引到60亿美元的境外公司IPO，而且全部为中资公司。

In 2014, companies such as Inc., an online retailer and rival, and Australian-owned Chinese job-seeking website Zhaopin Ltd., have listed on U.S. exchanges. Alibaba, China's biggest internet company, is seeking to raise up to $20 billion through a float on NYSE, equivalent to the value of all cross-border IPOs on U.S. exchanges over the past three-and-a-half years.

2014年，网上零售商京东( Inc.)与澳大利亚企业控股的中国求职网站智联招聘(Zhaopin Ltd.)等公司都已在美国交易所上市。作为中国最大互联网公司的阿里巴巴目前正寻求通过在纽约证交所上市筹资至多200亿美元，这将相当于过去三年半在美国交易所进行的所有跨境IPO交易的总额。

Hong Kong's main exchange and smaller GEM exchange traditionally have bested U.S. bourses for offshore business, as new Chinese companies from state-owned enterprises to startups listed in the former British colony. The trend has continued with companies like commercial lender Harbin Bank Co Ltd., which raised $1.13 billion, and Tianhe Chemicals Group Ltd., which raised $654 million, through listings so far this year.

随着从中国国企到初创公司的企业纷纷在香港新上市，香港交易所主板和创业板吸引了比美国各交易所更多的离岸业务。今年以来，哈尔滨银行股份有限公司(Harbin Bank Co Ltd, 简称：哈尔滨银行)和天合化工集团有限公司(Tianhe Chemicals Group Ltd., 简称：天合化工)等公司在香港上市，延续了这一趋势。哈尔滨银行通过香港上市募资11.3亿美元，天合化工通过香港上市募资6.54亿美元。

'Hong Kong has done pretty well in terms of the number of companies listing,' said Ms Chan. 'But take a closer look, though, and it seems bigger companies have chosen the U.S.'

陈世芝说，在准备上市的公司数量方面，香港做的很不错，但经过更仔细的观察，就会发现大企业似乎选择了美国。

In terms of IPO numbers overall, Hong Kong still came out on top, with 35 companies choosing to float there compared with 27 for U.S. exchanges.

在总体IPO数量方面，香港仍居首位。总计有35家企业选择在香港上市，27家选择在美国上市。

Updated listing rules in Hong Kong have added credibility to the exchange, but may also be one reason New York has gained an edge. Hong Kong's main exchange recently changed its rules to provide more vigorous vetting of company prospectuses, said Ms. Chan.

与时俱进的上市规则给香港交易所增添了公信力，但这可能也是纽约市场拥有某种优势的一个原因。陈世芝说，最近香港交易所主板调整了规定，将对企业招股说明书提供更严格的审查。

In the case of Alibaba, the Hong Kong exchange's owner, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. and regulator, the Securities and Futures Commission, partly have themselves to blame. The firm initially considered listing on the exchange but failed to reach agreement on a novel structure that would have allowed founding partners to continue nominating board members even after the company was listed.

在阿里巴巴的个案中，香港交易所的拥有方香港交易及结算所有限公司(Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd.(Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. , 简称：香港交易所)以及监管机构香港证券及期货事务监察委员会(Securities and Futures Commission, 简称：香港证监会)也难辞其咎。阿里巴巴起初考虑在香港交易所上市，但未能在公司结构上达成协议。按照阿里巴巴的架构，公司的开创合伙人仍可以在公司上市之后任命董事会成员。

'The U.S. allowed for a more innovative structure,' Ms. Chan said.

陈世芝说，美国容许更具创新性的架构。

Still, the overall picture is rosy for most exchanges, with a surge in cross-border IPOs as firms look to tap better valuations for their companies in markets around the world. Capital raised through cross-border IPOs in the first half of the year jumped 151% in value compared with the same time last year, with 102 listings raising $25.7 billion, according to Baker & McKenzie.

不过多数交易所的总体情况是好的，随着企业为自身在全球市场寻找更好的价值，跨境IPO数量激增。据贝克・麦坚时国际律师事务所的资料显示，与上年同期相比较，今年上半年通过跨境IPO筹集到的资本价值增长了151%，102笔上市交易筹集到了257亿美元。

The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, a new system that will allow cross-border trading between the two exchanges and may launch later this year, also should support this trend, said Ms. Chan.

陈世芝表示，沪港通这一新机制的诞生也将助长这一趋势，该机制允许两地投资者买卖对方交易所上市的股票，有可能会在今年晚些时候推出。