Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:
EU Pushes Back on China with Powers to Thwart State-Backed
Firms
Aoife White and Natalia Drozdiak
Bloomberg Wed., April 28, 2021, 1:34 a.m.
(Bloomberg) -- The European Union is looking to strengthen its hand against the growing economic threat posed by China, with new powers targeted at foreign state-owned companies.
The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, proposed new rules to levy fines and block deals, according to a draft obtained by Bloomberg. While China isn’t specifically mentioned in the proposal, the move follows complaints from European businesses that the Asian nation’s firms get support they can’t match.
Chinese business groups have already complained about the latest initiative, which will need support from EU governments before they become final. The document is a draft and could still change before it’s set to be proposed next week.
It’s the next step in the EU’s efforts to ward off China, building on a push by member states to protect strategic companies from takeovers by non-European buyers.
Amid the steepest recession in almost a century, Europe has shown signs of increasing protectionism. EU governments have been debating the “repatriation” of supply chains after the pandemic exposed the region’s vulnerability to disruptions, while France and Germany say the bloc should allow the creation of “European champions” big enough to compete with the U.S and China.
Member states have voiced growing alarm at the prospect of European companies being bought by firms with unlimited credit lines or being forced out of business because rivals can afford to sell below cost.
The new rules would run in parallel with oversight on foreign direct investment, which European governments have been ratcheting up in the last few years to give them more power to stop deals over industries or sectors they view as crucial. The increased scrutiny can be imposed even for minority stakes of more than 10%.
Germany blocked a Chinese bid for the first time in 2018 by vetoing the potential purchase of machine-tool manufacturer Leifeld Metal Spinning AG. Last year, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government agreed to buy a 23% stake in CureVac AG, at the time a key player in the race for a coronavirus vaccine which had been the focus of takeover speculation from the U.S.
Alongside similar moves in other member states, Germany’s cabinet on Tuesday approved more changes to rules on foreign investment to give the government enhanced powers to scrutinize transactions that could impact national security. The new regulations, which need parliamentary approval, are targeted at high-technology sectors like artificial intelligence, autonomous driving and quantum computing.
France recently halted the purchase of grocery chain Carrefour SA by Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., citing food sovereignty and the need to secure supply chains amid the pandemic. The country also vetoed the Teledyne Technologies Inc.’s purchase of Photonis, a company that makes night-vision gear for the military, citing strategic interests.
Spain’s government has signaled it could block at least two deals, one involving a utility and another involving a maker of aviation components.
Under the draft EU rules, companies that generate at least 500 million euros ($600 million) of revenue in Europe and received more than 50 million euros of support from a foreign state in the last three years will need the bloc’s approval for deals.
The EU also wants to be able to fine companies as much as 10% of their yearly revenue if it finds a firm unfairly benefited from a foreign subsidy -- including an unlimited state guarantee or credit line that undercuts European rivals. It warns in the draft that it could cancel government contracts granted to firms that gain an unfair advantage from such subsidies.
European officials are seeking the power to inspect companies’ offices outside of Europe, with the permission of the company and the knowledge of the foreign state, according to the draft.
Regulators suggest ways that companies could allay concerns over subsidies, including granting rivals access to infrastructure, licensing on fair terms or publishing research. Companies can also reduce capacity or market presence, divest assets or refrain from investment, according to the document.
Despite the tougher stance, the EU continues to actively build business ties with China, including an investment agreement. The bloc has promoted the deal, which could enter into force early next year, as a way to rebalance economic relations with its second-largest trade partner.
The accord expands access to the Chinese market for European investors in industries ranging from cars to telecommunications. It also seeks to tackle underlying Chinese policies deemed to be market-distorting, such as industrial subsidies, state control of enterprises and forced technology transfers.
Translation
（彭博社）- 歐盟正尋求加強對中國所構成的日益嚴重的經濟威脅的力量，新的權力是針對外國國有的公司。
彭博社獲得的一份草案顯示，歐盟的執行機構歐盟委員會提出了新的規則，可以徵收罰款和阻止交易。雖然提案中沒有特別提到中國，但此舉是在歐洲企業抱怨亞洲國家的企業獲得他們無法比擬的支持之後提出的。
中國企業集團已經對這最新舉措提出了抱怨，該舉措最終確定之前需要歐盟政府的支持。該文檔是一個初稿，在下週提出之前可能仍會更改。
這是歐盟為防止中國而作出的一步行動，這是建基於成員國推動保護戰略性公司, 免受非歐洲買家的收購而進行的。
歐洲處身在近一個世紀以來最嚴重的衰退中，顯示出保護主義正加劇的跡象。病毒大流行使該地區的脆弱性暴露後，歐盟各國政府一直在爭論供應鏈的“重返”，而法國和德國則表示，該集團應允許建立足以與美國和中國競爭的“歐洲優勝者”。
成員國對歐洲公司被擁有無限信用額度制的公司收購, 或由於競爭對手有能力以低於成本的價格做買賣而被迫倒閉的前景日益感到震驚。
新規則將與對外國直接投資的監督同時進行。過去幾年來，歐洲各國政府一直在加強對外國直接投資的監督，賦予各國政府更多監力，以製止他們認為至關重要的行業或領域的交易。即使超過10％的少數股權，也可能會受到嚴格的審查。
在2018德國首次否決了可能購買機床製造商Leifeld Metal Spinning AG的提議，從而阻止了中國的競標。去年，總理安格拉·默克爾（Angela Merkel）的政府同意購買CureVac AG 23％的股份，當時該公司是冠狀病毒疫苗競爭研發的主要參與者，該疫苗一直是美國人收購投機活動的重點。
在其他成員國正採取類似行動之時。德國內閣週二還批准了對外國投資規則的更多修改，以賦予政府增強審查可能影響國家安全的交易的權力。新法規需要獲得議會的批准，針對的是人工智能，自動駕駛和量子計算等高科技領域。
法國最近以食品主權, 以及在病毒大流行中確保供應鏈安全為由，停止了加拿大食品庫庫塔德公司（Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.）對食品雜貨連鎖店家樂福（Carrefour SA）的收購。該國還以戰略利益為由，否決了Teledyne Technologies Inc.對Photonis的收購。Photonis是一家為軍隊生產夜視儀的公司。
最近幾週，意大利與法國進行了協調，保護卡車製造商依維柯（Iveco SpA）免受中國一汽集團公司的收購。總理馬里奧·德拉吉（Mario Draghi）也發出了信息，阻止了中國深圳Invenland Holdings Co.競購小型半導體公司LPE SpA。
西班牙政府已表示可能至少阻止兩項交易，一項涉及公用事業，另一項涉及航空零部件製造商。
根據歐盟規則草案，在歐洲產生至少5億歐元（6億美元）收入，並且在過去三年中獲得外國政府超過5,000萬歐元支持的公司，將需要獲得歐盟的批准。
如果歐盟發現一家公司不公平地從外來補貼中受益，歐盟希望能夠對這公司處以相當於其年收入10％的罰款，其中包括受到無限量的國家擔保或信貸額度，因這削弱了歐洲公司競爭。它在草案中警告說，它可能會取消那些從此類補貼中獲得不公平利益的公司的政府合同。
根據這份草案，歐洲官員正在尋求在公司許可, 和外國知情的情況下, 有權力檢查在歐洲以外的公司的辦事處。
監管機構提出了一些方法，使公司可以減輕對補貼的擔憂，包括授予競爭對手有訪問基礎設施的權限，在公平條件下発出許可, 或發表研究成果。根據該文件，公司還可以減少產能或市場佔有率，減持資產或不進行投資。
歐盟委員會拒絕置評，中國駐歐盟代表團未回應置評請求。
儘管採取了強硬立場，歐盟仍繼續積極與中國建立業務聯繫，包括一項投資協議。 歐盟推動了這項協議，該協議可能將於明年年初生效，以此作為與其第二大貿易夥伴之間重新平衡經濟關係的一種方式。
該協議擴大了從汽車到電信等行業的歐洲投資者的進入中國市場的機會。 它還試圖解決被認為扭曲市場的潛在中國政策，例如工業補貼，國家對企業的控制和強制性技術轉讓。
In the past months, it seems that the
European Union is trying to strengthen its hand in countering the growing
economic threat posed by China, with new attention targeting at foreign
state-owned companies. An investment agreement which has been negotiated
between the EU and China for many years and scheduled to come into force in
early next year could probably be delayed due to the new tensions arise between
these two parties in recent weeks.
Note:
a. The so-called European champions is a way to fend off
competition from the US and China. “Europe’s
companies are too small,” said Carlo Alberto Carnevale-Maffè, professor of
strategy and entrepreneurship at Milan’s Bocconi University. “European
champions could start a new cycle of exporting not just goods but also
intangibles, such as services.” (https://www.ft.com/content/d4000a96-4961-11e8-8ae9-4b5ddcca99b3)
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