屈 “京” 之压, 联合利华延迟价格上调
作者: 英国《金融时报》 帕提•沃德米尔 上海, 邝彦晖 台北, 亚历山德拉•斯蒂文森 伦敦报道
译者: 爱尔兰都柏林大学 赖小琪
Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods group, has bowed to pressure from Beijing to delay planned price increases, highlighting a new regulatory risk in an inflationary climate.
英荷消费品集团联合利华近日迫于北京方面的压力, 不得不延迟提价计划, 这使得其在通货膨胀环境下的新的管制风险突显.
While Chinese authorities routinely force state-owned enterprises to place the public interest ahead of commercial concerns, Unilever’s confirmation of the government’s request signals that large foreign multinationals are not immune to such pressure.
尽管中国当局照例要求国有企业把人民群众的利益放在商业利益之前时, 联合利华对中国政府要求之响应, 显示了大型国外跨国公司也不能幸免于这政府的压力.
A Unilever spokeswoman in London said, “I can confirm that Unilever China received a request from the National Development and Reform Commission and has chosen to comply with it, and postpone price adjustments previously scheduled for April 1.”
一位在伦敦的联合利华发言人说: “我承认联合利华中国曾经从中国的国家发展改革委员会里收到不提价的要求, 并且我们也遵照其指令, 推迟原先打算在4月1日进行价格调整的计划.”
Chinese consumers, increasingly alarmed at the rising cost of living, cleared supermarket shelves earlier this week of shampoos, soaps and detergents after state media said four consumer goods companies – including Unilever and Guangzhou Liby Enterprise Group – would raise prices by 5 to 15 per cent.
中国的消费者越来越心不断上涨的生活成本, 于本周初将商场架上的洗发水, 肥皂以及洗洁精一扫而光, 因为之前他们从官方媒体得到消息, 四个消费品公司, 包括联合利华和广州立白企业集团将会将其旗下的商品提价5%至15%.
Alarmed by the reaction, Beijing is understood to have contacted companies to urge price restraint. China’s consumer price index rose 4.9 per cent year-on-year in February.
不难理解, 由于被消费者的反应所震惊, 北京联系了相关公司, 催促其限价. 中国今年二月的消费者物价指数同比增长4.9%.
“When you wake up and see photos of old people rushing into supermarkets in a panic, that is a signal to government that this is a serious problem,” said Shaun Rein of China Market Research in Shanghai.
当你清早醒过来, 看到老人们惶恐地疯涌进超市的照片, 你就知道, 这是给政府的一个信号, 说明问题已经相当严重了.” 中国市场研究集团驻上海的雷小山表示.
Alongside Unilever, Liby – another leading detergent producer – and Tingyi, which produces half of China’s instant noodles, agreed to delay planned price rises.
除了联合利华, 立白, 另一家领先的洗洁精生产商, 以及顶益, 一家生产中国过半方便面的生产商, 均同意延迟价格上调计划.
Tingyi said it acted “in alignment with the policy of the state for maintaining the stability of commodity prices”. Wei Ing-chou, chairman and chief executive, had spoken of the need to “watch which way the [political] wind blows”, when announcing the rise but, explaining the delay on Friday, the company pointed to signs that raw material prices were stabilising.
顶益表示会遵守政府关于保持物价稳定的政策. 该公司董事长兼首席执行官魏应州, 曾表示需要 “见(政治)风使舵”. 但与此同时, 在周五解释推迟价格上调原因时, 顶益表示有迹象显示原价料的价格正逐步企稳.
Luo Zhiping, analyst with Business Information Research, a Shanghai-based consulting firm with close ties to government, said the goal was to “prevent consumer chaos” after widespread panic-buying of salt, which was viewed as an antidote to potential radiation from Japan’s earthquake-crippled nuclear power station. By firing this shot across the bows of companies whose planned price increases were widely publicised, Beijing should be able to convince a wide range of companies to contain most prices, at least temporarily, he said.
罗志平, 与政府关系密切的上海商情研究中心的分析师, 表示说此举是为了防止消费者继之前大范围的恐慌购盐再度陷入混乱的局面. 当时人们认为误以为食盐可以防止在日本地震中遭到破坏的核电站泄露的潜在辐射的伤害. 罗志平表示, 通过向人民群众关注的有上调价格准备的企业发出警告, , 北京应该可以说服大部分公司限价, 至少暂时可以.
Unilever would not say how long it would postpone the price rise. Liby said that after being contacted, it had decided “to take the whole situation [of the market and consumer reaction] into account” and delay or even rescind price increases that had already been put in place.
联合利华并没有明确表示其延迟上调价格的期限. 立白集团则表示会将市场和消费者的整体反应考虑在内, 同时会延迟价格上调计划, 甚至将早前已经上调的价格恢复到原价. |
