“打洞” 前需 “打通”
原文: 选自英国>
译者: 爱尔兰都柏林大学 赖小琪
Spend money on digging a hole in the ground while convincing the locals that it is good for them. As resource nationalism grows, that is the conundrum mining, oil and gas companies face the world over. Although they invest millions of dollars to develop projects and pay their dues to host governments, rising commodity prices prompt governments to ask for more, alarming investors. Ollanta Humala’s election as Peru’s president this month, amid talk of a mining windfall tax, raises concerns that he might imitate the resource nationalism of Hugo Chávez, his Venezuelan hero. Elsewhere, Tanzania is considering a super-profit tax on miners.
花钱在地上打洞却对当地人说这是为他们谋福. 随着资源民族主义的观念日益增长, 这成为了世界采矿, 石油和天然气公司共同面对的难题. 尽管他们投资数百万美元到工程中而且向东道国政府纳税, 不断上涨的物价却促使政府向他们索要更多, 这引起了投资者们的担忧. 奥利安塔•乌马拉于本月当选秘鲁总统.在关于采矿业缴纳巨额税收的谈判中, 他表示可能效仿他所崇拜的委内瑞拉总统乌戈•查韦斯,推行资源民族主义政策. 这引起了人们的担忧. 而在别的地方, 如坦桑尼亚, 正在考虑对矿主征收暴利税.
Governments must accept that extractive industries are capital-intensive and avoid fiddling with royalty and tax regimes over the long life of resource projects. Kevin Rudd, the former Australian prime minister, lost his job after trying to spring a resource super-profits tax on existing projects, potentially undermining their economics.
各国政府必须承认采矿业是资本密集型产业, 同时避免在资源开发项目的漫长开发期间不断变更使用费率和税制. 前澳大利亚总理陆克文就在是试图对当时正在运行的项目征收暴力税而下台的, 因为此举可能会损害该国经济的发展.
Resource companies, meanwhile, must show humility. BHP Billiton might have succeeded in its visionary bid for PotashCorp in Canada if chief executive Marius Kloppers had spent time on the ground building relationships with politicians in Saskatoon. Rio Tinto might have had an easier entry to its Simandou iron ore project in Guinea, avoiding a $700m upfront tax, if Tom Albanese, chief executive, had made a similar commitment earlier, albeit with four different governments. Miners easily come to be seen as colonialist thieves. Brazil’s Vale made a smoother entrance in Guinea: it is treated as a friendly investor in a fellow emerging market.
与此同时, 资源开发公司也必须对政府表现出谦卑的态度. 如果必和必拓公司的首席执行官肯花时间与萨斯卡通当地的官员们建立良好的关系, 那么该公司或许就能成功地实现对加拿大钾肥公司的收购计划. 如果力拓的首席执行官艾博年早点与四国政府搞好关系(尽管有四国之多), 那么力拓在几内亚收购Simandou铁矿石公司就会容易很多, 也不用预付多达7亿美元的税款. 矿业公司很容易被看成是殖民主义盗贼. 而巴西淡水河谷公司则较为顺利地进入几内亚, 因为几内亚政府认为它也是来自新兴市场的友好投资者.
Companies also need to demonstrate their broader contribution to the economy, whether through job creation, local procurement or infrastructure development. They can always deploy their capital elsewhere. Governments must realise they compete for that capital. That calls for resourceful nationalism.
另外, 矿业公司也需要证明它们对当地的经济可以做出更大的贡献, 不管是通过创造就业, 本土采购还是通过基础设施建设. 这些公司可以把自身的资源投放别处, 因此东道国政府则必须认识到他们必须要争取让这些公司把资源投资到当地的发展. 这需要政府灵活地推行资源民族主义政策. |
