Chinese Firms' Craving For U.S. IPOs Weakens
HONG KONG -- Going public in the U.S. isn't as enticing as it used to be for Chinese companies. But they are finding other ways to lure U.S. investors still excited by the Chinese story.
For some time now, the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate-responsibility law and the specter of securities litigation, such as the class action filed in May against China Life Insurance Co., have given pause to Chinese companies -- an increasingly significant source of initial public offerings in the U.S. Rather than list on a U.S. exchange, some issuers have chosen to open trading on a European market or launch in Hong Kong alone.
Yet companies aren't necessarily sacrificing U.S. investor capital as a result. Instead, Chinese issuers are tapping U.S. investors through the 144a private placement of stock, a limited offering that allows large institutions to purchase shares -- and that circumvents the Securities and Exchange Commission and Sarbanes-Oxley altogether.
Since January 2003, 10 Chinese companies have launched IPOs of $250 million or more solely in Hong Kong, according to Dealogic. Nine of them also have sold shares to qualified U.S. institutional investors through 144a private placements. Jim Wickenden, a partner at law firm Herbert Smith, says a 144a placement can amount to a hefty chunk of a company's offering, often as much as 25%.
Chinese executives who previously had considered a dual listing "now might say, 'I'm a little nervous about being a public company in the U.S., from a Sarbanes-Oxley point of view and from a litigation point of view,' " says Neil Torpay, partner in the corporate practice at the law firm Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP.
A 144a offering, which gets its name from an SEC provision, may not be marketed to individual U.S. investors. Instead, companies and underwriters conduct small-scale presentations before select groups of the largest U.S. institutions. The 144a designation also means the issuer need not file financial statements with the SEC.
Mr. Wickenden advises foreign companies to think carefully before going public in the U.S. In the past, the U.S. attracted overseas issuers with greater trading liquidity, a large investor base and prestige. But especially for smaller deals, Mr. Wickenden says, the risks now outweigh the benefits. 中国企业在美国曲线融资
中国企业已不再像过去那样热衷于赴美国直接上市，不过，他们已经找到了从仍对中国经济津津乐道的美国投资者那里获得融资的其他途径。
最近一段时间以来，《萨班斯 - 奥克斯利法》 (Sarbanes-Oxley) 的实施和诉讼阴影的笼罩导致中国企业停下了赴美上市的脚步。例如，今年 5 月份，股东对中国人寿保险股份有限公司 (China Life Insurance Co.) 提起了集体诉讼。此前，中国企业已成为美国股市日益重要的新股发行来源。但现在，一些准备上市的中国企业决定放弃在美国上市的计划，转而去欧洲上市或者仅在香港一地上市。
但这并不是说中国企业就无法从美国投资者那里筹集到资金了。相反，中国企业正在通过 144a 股票私募规定吸引美国投资者的资金。 144a 股票私募规定允许公司把一部分股票用于向大机构配售，同时规避了美国证券交易委员会 (SEC) 和《萨班斯 - 奥克斯利法》的监管。
Dealogic 的资料显示，自 2003 年 1 月以来，先后有 10 家中国企业仅在香港一地上市，共筹集了 2.5 亿美元，甚至更多的资金。其中有 9 家企业通过 144a 股票私募规定向有资质的美国机构投资者配售发行了股票。律师事务所 Herbert Smith 的合伙人吉姆?威肯登 (Jim Wickenden) 表示，根据 144a 股票私募规定，企业往往可以把多达 25% 的股票用于配售。
Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP 的合伙人尼尔?托贝 (Neil Torpay) 表示，一些曾希望实现两地上市的中国企业的管理人士现在可能会说，“从《萨班斯 - 奥克斯利法》和可能遭到诉讼的角度来讲，我对在美国直接上市有些感到担心。”
按照 144a 股票私募规定发行股票的公司不得向美国的散户投资者发售股票，但却可以将美国最大的一些机构当作发售对象。 144a 股票私募规定还意味著希望发行股票的企业无需向 SEC 提交财务报告，其高级管理层也无需在财务报告中签名，而这一点正是《萨班斯 - 奥克斯利法》对在美国公开上市企业所做的明文规定。
威肯登建议有意去美国上市的外国企业应三思而行。在过去，美国股市凭藉巨大的流动性、庞大的投资者群体和在纽约证交所上市带来的心理满足感引得无数外国企业竞折腰。但威肯登认为，外国企业，特别是规模较小的外国企业去美国上市实际上是得不偿失，因为他们所面临的风险超过了从中获得的受益。他认为，实际上，根据业内的一个经验，在美国上市的外国企业遭到集体诉讼的可能性有 10% 。
或许，中国人寿最能充分说明在美国惹上官司这个风险。中国人寿母公司的财务违规行为遭到指控，律师代表投资者对中国人寿提起了集体诉讼。
本应在纽约和香港两地上市的中国船运公司中国外运 (Sinotrans) 已经决定放弃在美国上市的计划。该公司已在香港上市，并通过 144a 股票私募规定向美国投资者配售了股票。据一位知情人士透露说，融资规模不大──仅有 3.99 亿美元，以及在美国进行首次公开募股面临的复杂性导致该公司失去了美国公开上市的兴趣。
最近，中国国际航空公司 (Air China) 表示已决定放弃在纽约上市，可能会选择在伦敦股票交易所上市。
