中糧發現旗下荷蘭穀物經銷商會計問題
The Chinese food group Cofco has suffered another setback in its efforts to become one of the world’s leading agricultural traders after discovering a $150m hole in the accounts of Nidera, the Dutch grain house it secured control of in 2014.
中國食品集團中糧(Cofco)成爲世界領先農產品貿易商之一的努力再次遭遇挫折，該集團發現其於2014年獲得控股權的荷蘭穀物經銷商Nidera的賬目出現了1.5億美元的虧空。
People close to the situation told the Financial Times that the hole in the accounts of Nidera’s Brazilian operations related to so-called prepayment deals, where a trader pays a supplier for its commodities ahead of them being delivered.
知情人士對英國《金融時報》表示，Nidera巴西業務的賬目虧空與所謂的預付款交易有關，即交易商在貨物交付前預先向供應商支付貨款。
Nidera said yesterday that it had discovered an “accounting issue” at its Brazilian business during a review of the unit’s balance sheet.
Nidera昨日表示，在對巴西業務資產負債表的審查過程中發現了“會計問題”。
The $150m hole in Nidera’s accounts is the second significant issue to arise since Cofco bought a majority stake in the Dutch company.
此次Nidera賬目的1.5億美元虧空，是中糧收購這家荷蘭企業多數股權以來出現的第二起重大問題。
In 2015, Nidera posted its first net loss in five years after discovering $200m in unauthorised trading losses. A spokesman for Nidera said the company was investigating the exact cause of the new accounting issue.
2015年，由於發現2億美元未經授權的交易損失，Nidera報告了五年來的首次淨虧損。Nidera的一位發言人表示，該公司正在調查此次新出現的會計問題的確切原因。
After the FT reported the $150m hole in Nidera’s accounts, the company said in a statement: “As part of the Nidera board’s plan to improve controls and risk management under the chairmanship and majority ownership of Cofco, the new executive leadership initiated a group-wide balance sheet review.
在英國《金融時報》報道了Nidera賬目1.5億美元虧空後，該公司在一份聲明中表示：“在以中糧爲主席和控股股東的領導下，作爲Nidera董事會改進控制和風險管理計劃的一部分，新執行領導層在整個集團範圍發起了資產負債表審查。”
“The review recently unveiled an accounting issue in the Brazil balance sheet.”
“最近的審查在巴西的資產負債表中發現了一個會計問題。”
Nidera added that Cofco has underwritten a loan for the Dutch company to ensure it does not breach banking covenants. Cofco did not respond to emails and calls seeking comment.
Nidera補充說，中糧已經爲其擔保了一筆貸款，以確保這家荷蘭公司不違反銀行契約。中糧沒有回覆記者尋求置評的電子郵件和電話。
The company has ambitions to become one of the world’s leading agricultural traders, and compete with companies including Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland.
中糧立志成爲世界領先的農產品貿易商之一，與嘉吉(Cargill)、阿徹丹尼爾斯米德蘭(Archer Daniels Midland)等巨頭抗衡。
During the past two years, Cofco has spent more than $4bn buying Nidera and the agricultural trading arm of Noble Group.
過去兩年，中糧斥資逾40億美元收購了Nidera以及來寶集團(Noble Group)的農業貿易部門。
Cofco is planning to list its agricultural trading operations, called Cofco Agri, once it has combined the Nidera and Noble businesses.
中糧計劃，一旦完成對Nidera和來寶業務的整合，將讓旗下農產品貿易部門中糧農業(Cofco Agri)上市。
It was during the preparation of financial statements for Cofco Agri that the $150m hole in Nidera’s accounts was discovered, said one person close to the situation.
一位知情人士表示，Nidera賬目1.5億美元虧空正是在爲中糧農業準備財務報表的過程中發現的。
A second person added that the integration of Nidera into Cofco Agri could be delayed by the discovery.
另一位知情人表示，此次發現的問題可能推遲中糧農業整合Nidera的進程。
Cofco bought a majority stake in Nidera for $1.3bn in 2014, and then moved to secure full ownership in March, paying $750m for the 49 per cent that it did not already hold from families who founded the Rotterdam-based trading house almost a century ago.
2014年，中糧以13億美元收購了Nidera多數股權，後於今年3月以7.5億美元收購了剩餘49%的股份，實現了對Nidera股權的買斷，賣家是近一個世紀前創立這家總部位於鹿特丹的經銷商的家族。
Unlike their counterparts in oil, agricultural traders have experienced a tough couple of years because of unfavourable market conditions.
與石油企業不同，由於市場情況不利，農產品貿易商這兩年處境維艱。
A persistent supply glut has weighed on crop prices and reduced opportunities to move cargoes around the world.
持續的供應過剩對糧食價格造成了重壓，並使得在世界各地交易農產品的機會減少。
