Tata Group Makes Push To Spread Name Globally
2007年12月27日10:57
为率先成为被国际市场认可的印度品牌，塔塔集团(Tata Group)计划再斥资数十亿美元进军海外市场。但在全球经济状况日渐引人担心的环境下，对于已在世界各地市场频频出手的塔塔来说，其风险不言而喻。
Tata Group is set to place more multibillion-dollar bets in its bid to become one of the first globally recognized Indian brands. But as concerns increase about the health of the global economy, so do the risks for a conglomerate that already is India's most prolific purchaser of international companies.
福特汽车(Ford Motor Co.)出售旗下捷豹(Jaguar)和路虎(Land Rover)两个品牌的最终结果将于明年初揭晓，塔塔旗下的Tata Motors有望成为这两个品牌的新东家，但为此它要付出超过20亿美元的代价。Tata Motors下个月将推出其自称是全世界最便宜的量产型乘用车，单价可能只相当于2,500美元。与此同时，该集团正在酝酿将百慕大豪华酒店运营商Orient-Express Hotels Ltd.纳入旗下。
Early in the new year, the group's auto-making arm, Tata Motors Ltd., is likely to win its bid for Ford Motor Co.'s premium Jaguar and Land Rover brands at a cost of more than $2 billion. Next month, at the other end of the automobile market, Tata Motors is scheduled to unveil what the company is touting as the world's least expensive mass-produced passenger car, with a sticker price possibly as low as $2,500. The group also is courting Orient-Express Hotels Ltd., of Bermuda, a luxury-hotels operator.
塔塔集团希望通过收购在海内外市场提升自己的形像，而未来数年会有更多的印度公司加入到海外扩张的行列中。
The Tata Group's expansion campaign is designed to boost the company's profile at home and abroad. An increasing number of Indian companies are expected to widen their scope in coming years.
过去，只有少数印度公司有投资海外的经历，并且多半是IT业、外部采购、纺织和制药等行业的公司。而如今，随着经济实力的膨胀，塔塔及其他印度公司纷纷想方设法收购海外公司、跻身国际市场。塔塔已将数个国际品牌纳入囊中，其中还包括英国的Tetley Tea。
Previously, only a limited number of Indian companies, mostly in the information-technology, outsourcing, textile and pharmaceutical industries, ventured outside of India. Today, Tata Group -- which already owns several international brands, including Tetley Tea, of the U.K. -- and others are looking for ways to use their new economic might to buy companies and target markets abroad.
在塔塔集团的控股公司塔塔之子(Tata Sons Ltd.)任董事的克里西纳?库马(R.K. Krishna Kumar)表示，涉足品牌业务的公司不能把眼光只放在印度。只有掌握具备主导地位的品牌，公司才能生存下来。此类品牌可以是自己创建的，也可以从外部收购；不过，自己从头创建一个品牌的风险是很高的。
'Companies involved in branded businesses cannot remain restricted to India,' said R.K. Krishna Kumar, director at Tata Sons Ltd., the holding company for the group, in an interview. 'The only survivors will be those that have a dominant brand they have built or acquired, and building it can be a high-risk proposition.'
然而，塔塔集团恰恰是在一个充满风险的时机实施上面这些大动作的。眼下，人们对发达国家经济增长大幅放缓的顾虑越来越大，这里正是捷豹和路虎的主要市场。孟买Angel Broking高级研究分析师瓦沙里?贾尤(Vaishali Jajoo)表示，Tata Motors将不得不靠在印度和其他发展中国家的销售网来抵消发达国家市场降温的影响。她表示，捷豹和路虎在发达国家的总需求量在下滑，不过预计发展中市场的需求会增加。
Indeed, Tata is making these big bets at a risky time. There is increasing concern that a significant slowdown could occur in the developed countries that are the main markets for Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles. Tata Motors will need to use its sales network in India and other developing economies to offset any slowdown, said Vaishali Jajoo, senior research analyst at Angel Broking in Mumbai. 'Overall demand is going down in developed countries' for Jaguars and Land Rovers, she said, 'but it is expected to grow in developing countries.'
此外，塔塔耗时数年开发的新型小型汽车是以新兴市场为着眼点。预计集团董事长拉坦?塔塔(Ratan Tata)将在明年1月10日新德里的一个汽车展上揭开这款汽车的面纱。该公司计划以每辆10万卢比（折合2,500美元）的价格销售此款汽车。目前外界对这款汽车知之甚少，只知道有四个座位，耗油量不高，并有时尚的造型。
Emerging markets are the main target for the new small car Tata has spent years developing. Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata is scheduled to unveil the car at an auto show in New Delhi Jan. 10. Tata plans to sell the car for about 100,000 rupees, or $2,500. Little is known about the car, other than it will have four seats, good gas mileage and a modern look.
虽然人们相信这种汽车将会改变印度人的驾驶习惯，让新一代司机舍弃摩托车而转向汽车，但Tata Motors也面临着风险。虽然印度经济高速发展，过去四年的年均增长速度约为8.6%，但全球经济增长减缓可能会削弱消费者的购买力。
While the car is expected to transform driving in India, allowing a new generation of drivers to graduate from motorcycles to automobiles, it carries risks for Tata Motors. India's economy is roaring ahead, with annual growth averaging about 8.6% in the past four years, but a global slowdown could dent consumer spending.
Tata Motors计划在2008年开始生产这种汽车。分析师们警告说，就算印度经济保持活力，也成功地将这款车推向了市场，但由于研发成本太高，该项目仍然需要四年时间才能实现收支平衡。
Tata Motors plans to start production of the car later in 2008. Analysts warn that even with a vibrant Indian economy and a successful launch, it could take more than four years for the project to break even because of high development costs.
贾尤说，很多人都关心这款车要多久才能赢利。她表示没有人期望它一开始就能有利可图，因为他们一直信心十足，而且是在开创一个全新的业务。
'There are a lot of concerns' about how long it will take to make money, Ms. Jajoo said. 'Nobody is expecting it to be a profitable venture initially because they are being ambitious and creating a new segment altogether.'
今年迄今，Tata Motors的股票已经下跌了20%左右，原因是该公司的商用车和乘用车销量下滑。同期基准的孟买证券交易所敏感指数上涨了46%。Tata Motors周三收于752.10卢比，涨幅3.3%。
Shares in Tata Motors have shed about 20% so far this year because of a slowdown in the sales of the company's commercial and passenger vehicles. During the same period, the benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index, or Sensex, has risen about 46%. Tata Motors shares closed yesterday at 752.10 rupees, up 3.3%.
自捷豹和路虎的工会将Tata Motors选为优先竞购者之后，这家印度汽车制造商一直在收购上述两品牌的交易中占据领先地位。与其竞标的是摩根大通公司(JPMorgan Chase & Co.)旗下的私人资本运营公司One Equity Partners和另一家印度汽车制造商Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.,后者与私人资本运营公司Apollo Management LP共同投标。此番并购将让塔塔集团获得生产高级轿车的技术，还有增强其国际形象所需的销售网络。
Tata Motors has been the front-runner in the bidding for Jaguar and Range Rover since their unions last month chose the Indian auto maker as their preferred bidder. The competing bidders are One Equity Partners, a private-equity firm that is a unit of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., and Indian auto maker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., which is bidding jointly with private-equity firm Apollo Management LP. The acquisition would give Tata Group the technology to build better cars. It also would give Tata Motors the sales network it needs to boost its international profile.
也有一些人对印度的日渐崛起感到不安。最近部分美国捷豹经销商致信福特汽车公司，建议其不要将捷豹出售给印度买家，因为归属于印度会损害这个品牌的形象。Orient-Express的董事会最近也致信塔塔集团，表示塔塔控股会有损该酒店连锁的形象。塔塔已经拥有Orient-Express 12%的股份，并有意进行善意收购。
Some are uncomfortable with India's rising profile in the world. A group of Jaguar dealers in the U.S. recently sent a letter to Ford suggesting it not sell Jaguar to an Indian buyer, as Indian ownership could hurt the perception of the brand. The board of directors of Orient-Express recently sent a letter to Tata Group suggesting Tata ownership would hurt the hotel chain's image. Tata already owns 11% of Orient-Express and is interested in a friendly acquisition.
塔塔管理层称，公司经营奢侈品牌不会有任何问题。该集团旗下的酒店连锁Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces就拥有五星级酒店。塔塔之子的库马说：“说Taj不是奢侈品牌是很可笑的。”他还表示，公司正在寻求美国旅游服务业和饮料行业的其他并购机会。
Tata officials assert the group will have no trouble managing luxury brands. Its Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, a hotel chain, includes five-star hotels. 'To say the Taj is not a luxury brand is ridiculous,' said Mr. Kumar, the Tata Sons director. He added that the group is looking at other acquisitions in the hospitality industry, as well as the beverage industry in the U.S.
Eric Bellman / Stephen Power
没有评论:
发表评论