香港商界巨頭遭遇各方責難

The corporate titans who dominate this city's real-estate market and control businesses ranging from cellphone providers to bus companies to supermarkets are facing unprecedented challenges to their power.

控制着香港的房地產市場以及從手機經銷商、巴士公司到超市等諸多行業的商界巨頭們，正受到針對其龐大勢力的前所未有的挑戰。

Parts of their empires are under pressure from Hong Kong's new leader, a reinvigorated anticorruption agency and local residents angered by rising rents and stagnant earnings. Their own advanced ages may also be working against them.

他們執掌的商業帝國中的一部分目前正在承受着壓力，這些壓力來自香港的新任領導人和一家被重新注入活力的反腐敗機構，以及因房租日益上漲和收入停滯不前而憤怒不已的香港市民。這些大亨們老邁的年齡可能也正成爲對他們不利的因素。

Last month, two billionaire property developers were charged with bribery by the anticorruption agency, sending shock waves through Hong Kong's business community. Though the city's government has a reputation for coddling powerful local conglomerates, its newly inaugurated chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, says his administration will be different.

上個月，兩個身爲億萬富翁的房地產開發商被反腐敗機構指控行賄，在香港商界引起軒然大波。儘管香港政府一向有對當地財大氣粗的大公司關照有加的名聲，但香港新上任的行政長官樑振英說，他領導的這屆政府將與以往不同。

'I don't need extensive or personal relations with any [business] sector,' he said in an interview. 'I'm here to serve the seven million,' a reference to all the city's inhabitants.

樑振英在接受採訪時說，我不需要與任何商業領域建立大範圍的或是私人的關係。我在這裏是爲700萬香港人服務的。

Hong Kong's tycoons have survived tough times before. The question is whether they are still up for a fight. Those like Li Ka-shing, who came of age in the boom years after World War II, are in their 80s or older. Some are beset by squabbling heirs and succession battles.

香港的大亨們以往也曾經歷過幾段艱難時期。問題是他們現在是否仍然還有鬥志。李嘉誠這批在二戰後經濟繁榮時期步入成年的香港大亨們，現在已經年過八旬甚至更老。一些人正受到子女不和以及繼承權糾紛的困擾。

Hong Kong's six biggest conglomerates dominate the city and are in turn closely tied to their founders' families. They take in at least 23 cents of every dollar that residents spend, controlling Hong Kong's biggest mobile-phone network, its electrical system, its bus system, the vast majority of the buildings making up its iconic skyline, plus two-thirds of its private housing market and 90% of its supermarket sales. By comparison in the U.S., Wal-Mart Stores Inc.岸the world's largest retailer岸accounts for 2.5 cents of every dollar of private consumption.

香港六家最大的企業集團控制着這個城市，它們與這些企業的創始人家族也有着密切關係。香港居民的消費支出中，至少有23%流入了這些企業囊中，這些企業集團控制着香港最大的手機網絡、電力系統、巴士系統、勾勒出香港標誌性天際線的絕大多數建築，以及三分之二的香港私人住房市場。香港90%的超市銷售收入也由這些企業實現。相比之下，世界最大零售商沃爾瑪(Wal-Mart Stores Inc.)的在美銷售額只佔美國私人消費總額的2.5%。

Hong Kong's residents once idolized the tycoons. 'When I was younger, people called Li Ka-shing 'Superman,' ' recalls social-worker Kan Chi-wai. Mr. Li, now Asia's richest man, 'was a legend岸a Hong Kong legend,' he says.

香港市民曾經視這些大亨爲偶像。社工Kan Chi-wai回憶說，我年輕一些的時候，人們都把李嘉誠稱作超人。李嘉誠現在是亞洲最富有的人。他說，李嘉誠是一個傳奇，一個香港傳奇。

Increasingly, however, these former heroes are blamed for the city's economic woes. Hong Kong has the developed world's highest housing costs and its widest wealth gap. 'People think, 'Wow, Hong Kong岸it's so free,'' says Sin Yat-Ming, of the Chinese University of Hong Kong's business school. 'But the developers control the whole supply chain in Hong Kong, so it's not easy for a newcomer to break in.'

然而，這些曾經的英雄現在因爲香港經濟上的問題而受到越來越多的責備。香港的房價和貧富差距都堪稱世界之最。香港中文大學商學院的Sin Yat-Ming說，人們都會覺得，哇，香港，多自由啊，但是開發商們控制着香港的整個供應鏈，所以後來者想進入一個新領域並不容易。

The combined wealth of the city's billionaires is equivalent to more than 70% of Hong Kong's GDP. Nos. 2 and 3 by that measure are Lebanon and Russia, with ratios of 33% and 25% respectively, according to Welch Consulting's Stephen Bronars, whose analysis excluded nations with less than a million people.

香港億萬富豪的全部財富相當於香港本地生產總值(GDP)的70%還多。諮詢公司Welch Consulting的布羅納爾斯(Stephen Bronars)說，這方面排名世界第二和第三位的是黎巴嫩和俄羅斯，其本國億萬富豪財富總額分別相當於本國GDP的33%和25%。統計中沒有包括人口低於100萬的國家和地區。

Yuna Lam, who works in accounting, is one of many white-collar professionals who spend nearly every waking hour in a building or vehicle owned by local conglomerates. In the morning, she wakes up in South Horizons, a seaside apartment complex developed and run by Mr. Li. She travels to work on a bus that's partially owned by Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Ltd. Her office building is partially owned by Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd., which also gets paid when she uses her cellphone. And she shops at Mr. Li's grocery and drug stores.

許多香港白領幾乎所有醒着的時間都是在當地大企業所擁有的建築和車輛中度過，在會計行業工作的Yuna Lam就是其中之一。每天早上，她在李嘉誠開發和運營的海怡半島(South Horizons)公寓大樓中醒來，乘坐一輛由周大福企業有限公司(Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Ltd.)部分擁有的巴士去上班。她所在寫字樓的部分股權歸新鴻基地產發展有限公司(Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd.)所有，當她使用手機時，有一部分話費也會流入新鴻基會囊中。她還在李嘉誠開的雜貨店和藥店購物。

Ms. Lam's case may seem extreme, but she says she's not unusual: 'There are many Hong Kong people like me,' she says.

Yuna Lam的例子可能顯得有點極端，但她說自己並不是特例。Yuna Lam說，在香港有許多像我這樣的人。

Among the city's six dominant conglomerates, three were started by boot-strapping mainland emigrants: Mr. Li's Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd., HK -1.43% Sun Hung Kai Properties and Chow Tai Fook Enterprises. Three others date back to colonial-era concessions, including Swire Pacific Ltd., HK -1.43% Wheelock HK -1.43% & Co. and Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd.

在香港六家占主導地位的大企業中，有三家是由白手起家的大陸移民創辦的，分別是：李嘉誠的長江實業(Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd.)，新鴻基地產和周大福。另外三家則是在香港的殖民地時期享有特許權的企業，這三家公司是太古股份有限公司(Swire Pacific Ltd.)、會德豐有限公司(Wheelock & Co.)和怡和控股(Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd.)。

Jardine Matheson says its businesses constantly have to invest and improve to meet Hong Kong's competitive challenges. All the other companies declined to comment or didn't respond to requests for comment.

怡和控股說，爲應對香港市場上的競爭，公司旗下的企業不得不持續進行投資和提高。其它公司要麼拒絕評論，要麼未迴應置評要求。

Hong Kong's conglomerates have long depended on government concessions, and their leaders have been known for their close ties with top officials. That perception was reinforced last month, when Hong Kong's independent anticorruption agency charged Thomas and Raymond Kwok─billionaire brothers who are among Hong Kong's most powerful developers─in a case that involves $4.5 million in bribes to the government's former No. 2 official.

香港大型企業集團長期以來一直依賴政府的優惠政策，這些企業的領導人與香港高官的密切關係也是衆所周知的。外界的這一看法上個月進一步得到了加強：香港獨立的反腐敗機構指控郭炳江(Thomas Kwok)和郭炳聯(Raymond Kwok)涉嫌賄賂港府前“二把手”，涉案金額450萬美元。億萬富豪郭氏兄弟都屬於香港最有權勢的房地產開發商。

The Kwok brothers control Sun Hung Kai Properties, the world's second-largest property developer by stock-market value. They have also built some of Hong Kong's most famous buildings, including its tallest tower. Now, if convicted of the bribery charges, they could face several years in prison. Raymond Kwok said at a news conference that he is innocent. Thomas Kwok has declined to comment.

郭氏兄弟掌控着新鴻基地產發展有限公司，這是按市值計全球第二大房地產開發企業。此外，他們還修建了香港一些最有名的建築，包括香港最高的寫字樓。如果因賄賂指控被定罪，他們可能會被判幾年監禁。郭炳聯曾在一個新聞發佈會上說，自己是無辜的。郭炳江一直拒絕發表評論。

The city's anticorruption agency has suffered a series of embarrassments, including the conviction of several of its investigators for coaching a witness to provide false evidence.

香港反腐機構經歷了一系列尷尬事件，包括幾名調查員因教唆證人提供僞證而被定罪等。

But now it is investigating the city's former chief executive, Donald Tsang, for allegedly traveling on yachts and private jets owned by top business executives and for what appears to have been a sweetheart deal with a local mogul for a penthouse apartment.

不過，該機構目前正在調查香港前特首曾蔭權(Donald Tsang)。調查的起因是有人指稱他曾乘坐企業高管的遊艇和私人飛機，以及他似乎就一套頂層大宅與當地一位大亨達成了一筆對自己有利的交易。

Mr. Tsang admitted to accepting the jet travel and has given up the apartment. He delivered two tearful apologies for disappointing the public. He hasn't admitted wrongdoing. The agency says nothing has changed in its approach to corruption.

曾蔭權承認，自己確曾接受過乘坐私人飛機的邀請，並且已放棄了那套公寓。他爲自己讓民衆失望而兩度致歉落淚，但他們沒有承認自己存在過失。香港反腐機構說，它對於腐敗行爲的態度沒有任何改變。

Mr. Leung and the anticorruption agency have been backed in their recent efforts by Beijing, which is apprehensive about the rising discontent in Hong Kong. The Chinese government supported the selection of Mr. Leung, and Chinese President Hu Jintao instructed him to make resolving social tensions his first priority. At Mr. Leung's inauguration earlier this summer, Mr. Hu said social conflicts 'could affect Hong Kong's long-term development.'

樑振英和香港反腐機構近來的行動得到了北京的支持，後者對於香港民衆日益高漲的不滿情緒感到擔憂。中國政府支持樑振英成爲香港特首，國家主席胡錦濤指示樑振英，要把解決社會矛盾作爲首要任務。胡錦濤今年初夏在樑振英的就職典禮上說，社會矛盾可能會影響香港的長遠發展。

Beijing, which is also grappling with corruption and inequality at home, wants a stable Hong Kong. In five years, residents there will directly elect their leader for the first time, and angry voters could choose someone unappealing to China.

正在奮力解決內地腐敗和貧富不均問題的北京希望看到一個穩定的香港。五年後，香港市民將首次直接選舉領導人，那些憤怒的選民或許會選出一個並不讓中國政府稱心如意的特首。

Much of the current public anger can be traced back to land. At the moment, just 7% of Hong Kong's 430 square miles is used for residential purposes. Housing prices have risen 82% since late 2008, but incomes have stagnated for a decade. Besides limiting the new supply, analysts say, the government has been selling huge plots and requiring land premiums to be paid up front in massive lump sums, an approach that favors large developers. Currently, just three companies control 65% of the private residential market, according to brokerage CLSA.

眼下香港民衆的憤怒情緒很大程度上可以追根溯源到土地問題。香港陸地面積爲430平方英里(合1,103平方公里)，其中僅有7%用作居民住宅用地。2008年底以來，香港房價大漲82%，但居民收入10年來卻止步不前。分析人士說，香港政府採取了一系列對大型房地產開發商有利的措施，如限制新的土地供應，一直在出售大面積的地塊，並要求開發商預先支付鉅額補地價。據經紀公司里昂證券(CLSA)統計，香港目前65%的私人住宅市場控制在三家房地產公司手中。

Keith Kerr, who heads the Real Estate Developer's Association of Hong Kong, says the government, which sets land-supply levels, bears the responsibility for helping to fuel the prices, not the developers. 'It's easy to shoot the messenger,' he says.

香港地產建設商會(Real Estate Developer's Association of Hong Kong)會長簡基富(Keith Kerr)說，香港政府決定着土地供應量的多寡，爲助推房價擔責的應是香港政府，而不應是開發商。簡基富說，人們很容易向信使開槍射擊。

In February, the government said it would begin selling more land and offering smaller plots, allowing more medium-size developers to compete. Mr. Leung also says he will open up land supply, potentially pushing down prices. Chinese developers are moving in too, making the market more competitive.

香港政府今年2月說，將開始出售更多土地，並且會推出面積較小的地塊，讓更多中等規模的開發商參與競爭。樑振英也說，他將開放土地供應，這樣做可能會打壓房價。中國內地開發商也在進入香港房地產市場，給香港樓市帶來更多競爭。

Pong Yat-Ming is a one-man protest movement against the tycoons. The 38-year-old teacher bicycles to work because the tycoons own the city buses. He avoids ParknShop and Wellcome, the two dominant supermarket chains. His one concession is electricity. 'People are angry,' says Mr. Pong. 'They feel the super-companies have gotten too powerful, they control too much of our lives.'

龐一鳴(Pong Yat-Ming)發起了他個人對香港大亨的抗議運動。這位38歲的教師騎自行車去上班，因爲香港巴士歸大亨們所有。他不去百佳(ParknShop)和惠康(ParknShop)這兩家香港主要的連鎖超市。用電是他的一個讓步。龐一鳴說，人們有怨氣，他們覺得那些超級企業太強大了，控制了我們生活的太多方面。