经济学人159:印度公司在海外

 　　Buiness

　　商业
　　Indian firms abroad
　　印度公司在海外
　　Under the radar 1
　　默默无闻
　　Godrej, an Indian conglomerate 2, goes global its own way
　　高德瑞治，一家印度大型联合企业，用其特有的方式走向全球
　　THE world is used to big Indian firms planting flags in foreign fields.
　　这个世界正在习惯于大型印度公司在异地安营扎寨。
　　Now the subcontinent's medium-sized firms are venturing abroad, too, and often proving quicker and nimbler than their peers in other emerging economies.
　　现在这个南亚次大陆的中型规模的公司也正在向外国市场进军，并且经常比其他新兴经济体国家的竞争对手显得更为快速与敏捷。
　　Take the Godrej Group, a family-controlled conglomerate based in Mumbai.
　　就如高德瑞治集团，一家在孟买建立的家族掌控的大型联合企业为例。
　　The firm began as a lockmaker in 1897.
　　这个公司在1897年是作为一家锁制造商起家的。
　　While the Indian economy was closed it could not expand abroad much, so it diversified 3 wildly: into soap, typewriters, forklift trucks, animal feed and talcum powder.
　　因为当时印度经济很封闭，公司不能过多地在境外发展，因此公司经营范围扩展得非常广阔：肥皂、打印机、铲车、动物饲料、爽身粉都有涉及。
　　When India opened up in the 1990s, it had to become less jumbled 4 and to shape up, says Adi Godrej, the chairman.
　　当印度在20世纪90年代经济对外开放的时候，高德瑞治必须减少混乱的营运方式并进行改进，就像安迪?高德瑞治主席所说：
　　We put our thinking caps on.
　　我们戴上了思想者的帽子。
　　After a false start experimenting with joint 5 ventures with foreign firms, the group has settled on having clearly defined divisions,typically fully 6 controlled.
　　继一次与外国公司错误的合资计划，该集团已经在有分歧的部分达成了一致，是典型的完全控制。
　　Together they have sales of $3.3 billion, with the largest being Godrej Consumer Products, a sort of mini-Unilever that cranks out soap, detergent 7, hair products and weapons for waging war on creepy-crawlies.
　　将最大的高德瑞治消费产品，例如大量制造的肥皂、洗衣服、护发产品以及杀虫剂这种类似小型联合利华的产品，总共算下来公司有33亿美元的市值。这一部分已经在海外进行了短暂的尝试。
　　This unit has led the foray overseas, with deals in Nigeria, Indonesia, Argentina, Britain and South Africa since late 2005.
　　从2005年末算起，该公司就与尼日利亚、印度尼西亚、阿根廷、英国及南非有贸易往来。
　　It has spent about $1 billion, says Mr Godrej, and now makes about a third of its sales outside India.
　　高德瑞治先生说，现在已经花费了大概10亿美元，并且现在做成了在印度以外的大约三分之一的买卖。
　　In June it announced the acquisition of Darling Group, which sells hair extensions in 14 countries in Africa.
　　在六月份，公司宣布收购达令公司，这是一个在非洲14个国家销售头发相关产品的公司。
　　If a Western firm did this, it might be clobbered 8 by fund managers for being too thinly spread.
　　如果一个西方公司这样做，他也许会因为太草率地扩张公司而被基金经理批评。
　　Indian investors 9 have been more open-minded: Godrej Consumer's shares have more than tripled since the end of 2007, valuing the firm at $3.2 billion.
　　印度投资者思想已经变得开放起来：高德瑞治消费者的股份已经是2007年底的三倍多，公司市值32亿美元。
　　Mr Godrej says the key is to pick niche 10 products with sizeable local market shares which pass under the radar of big global rivals.
　　高德瑞治先生认为关键就是在躲过大的全球对手监控下用相当大的当地市场份额来选择产品用户群。
　　Aware of its limited pool of managers and knowledge of new countries, Godrej grants the acquired firms autonomy.
　　了解到在新国家的管理者和知识领域的空缺，高德瑞治准予了获得公司的自主权。
　　Its financial disclosure is surprisingly poor, but the deals have all boosted earnings 11, it says, and more are likely.
　　该公司财务状况公开结果是异常不好的，但交易已经促进了收益，确实，并且很有可能就是这样的。
　　Godrej will eventually face a universal problem: how to marry ambition with family control.
　　高德瑞治最终将要面对一个普遍的问题：怎样将志向与家族控制结合在一起。
　　Two big holding companies sit above Godrej Consumer.
　　两家大型控股公司摆在高德瑞治消费者面前。
　　Such fiddly holding chains can cause problems if the family is unwilling 12 or unable to fund new investments or accept the alternative of losing control.
　　如果家族不愿意或者无能力去建立新的投资项目或者接受失去控制权的选择，这样繁琐的控股程序会引来麻烦。
　　Godrej may be different, though.
　　虽然高德瑞治也许不同。
　　The holding companies are not mere 13 shells, but maintain profitable operations in their own right, have manageable debt and are sitting on a vast plot of land in Mumbai that could eventually be worth billions of dollars.
　　控股公司并不仅仅是一个空壳，但为了他们个人的利益维持有益的运转，拥有易控制的债务和孟买的一大片土地，这些最终都会价值数十亿美元。
　　So the family probably has the resources to fund expansion without resorting to financial engineering.
　　所以家族大概有用于扩张基金的资源，而不需要采取金融工具的手段。
　　All that's left is for them to agree with one another.
　　他们唯一能做的就是互相认可。
　　Today Mr Godrej supervises the firm peacefully along with his brother and cousin, while employing a cadre of professional managers.
　　今天高德瑞治先生雇佣了一个专业的管理骨干队伍，与他的兄弟姐妹一起稳定地管理公司。
　　The next generation is making its way up the ladder.
　　下一个时代就是朝这个路继续向下走。
　　By tradition all family members on the payroll 14 are expected to meet for lunch on Thursdays.
　　按照传统，所有在公司的家庭成员都应该周四的时候一起吃午饭。
　　It's likely they will be more jet-lagged and stressed than in the past, but with luck there won't be any food fights for a while.
　　这很可能会使他们更加因为时差和压力的原因而比以前更感到疲倦，不过幸运的是再也不会有食物引发的战争了。