印度科技初創公司期盼中國資金 India's tech start ups eye Chinese saviours
For anxious Indian start-ups seeking to raise capital as their country’s tech bubble deflates, the investment plans of companies such as China’s Cheetah Mobile could hardly come at a better time.
在印度，隨着科技泡沫收縮，尋求募集資金的初創企業備感焦慮。對它們而言，像中國的獵豹移動(Cheetah Mobile)這樣的公司來的正是時候。
“The consensus in China seems to be that India will be the next growth engine for the entire global internet market, because of its population, economic growth and rising internet penetration,” says Alex Yao, senior vice-president at the Beijing-based group, which makes utility software for Android smartphones.
“在中國，大家似乎都認爲，印度將是全球互聯網市場的下一個增長引擎，這是因爲它的人口規模、經濟增長速度和日益提高的互聯網普及率，”獵豹移動高級副總裁Alex Yao表示。這家總部在北京的公司主要開發適用於Android智能手機的應用軟件。
To tap that opportunity, Cheetah is planning a flurry of Indian investments, a process it began last November by leading a Rs880m ($12m) round for GOQii, the wearable fitness device maker founded by Indian entrepreneur Vishal Gondal.
爲了利用這一機會，獵豹移動計劃在印度進行一系列投資。其實從去年11月開始，該公司就採取了行動。當時在印度企業家維沙爾•貢達爾( Vishal Gondal)創辦的可穿戴健康設備製造商GOQii發起的一輪總額8.8億盧比（合1200萬美元）的募資中，獵豹移動扮演了主投資者。
Mr Yao says he plans at least 20 more deals over the next two years, as part of efforts to tie-up with local companies that can help the New York-listed Cheetah’s wider expansion plans in India.
Alex Yao表示，他計劃在未來兩年再進行至少20筆交易，作爲與印度當地企業結盟的努力的一部分，這樣的合作將幫助在紐約上市的獵豹移動在印度實施擴張計劃。
Such statements would have drawn little attention in India for most of last year, as the country’s tech scene boomed and record capital flooded in, both from Silicon Valley venture groups and technology investors including SoftBank, the Japanese telecoms company.
如果是在去年的大多數時間裏，這樣的聲明在印度不會吸引多少關注。當時該國的科技行業一派繁榮，涌入的資本規模創下了紀錄，資金來源既有硅谷風投公司，也有專愛投資科技領域的公司，如日本電信公司軟銀(SoftBank)。
Yet following a sharp drop-off in Indian deals in the final quarter of last year, industry figures say finding fresh funds has become even tougher in 2016, against the backdrop of a global correction in start-up valuations.
然而，在去年第四季度印度的投資交易數量大幅下降後，業內人士表示，在全球範圍內對初創企業估值進行修正的背景下，在2016年募資變得更加困難了。
For entrepreneurs and investors gathered last week at Surge, a conference for start-up entrepreneurs in the Indian technology capital of Bangalore, the prominence of companies like Cheetah raised a tantalising prospect: might Chinese companies step in, just as others were drawing back?
上週，在印度科技之都班加羅爾(Bangalore)舉辦了初創企業家會議“Surge”。對與會的企業家和投資者而言，獵豹移動這類公司的嶄露頭角讓人看到了一個誘人的前景：在其他投資者後退的時候，中國企業是否可能出手？
“It is getting harder to raise funds, that is true, but we have seen new sources of funds before,” says Vani Kola, managing director at Kalaari Capital, an India-focused venture group, referring to recent moves by global pension funds and investment managers to begin backing local start-ups.
“的確，募集資金變得越來越困難，但我們此前就看到了新的資金來源，”專注於印度市場的風投集團Kalaari Capital的董事總經理瓦尼•科拉(Vani Kola)表示。他指的是全球養老金基金和投資管理機構最近支持印度本土初創企業的行動。
“There are a good number of big Chinese tech players with billions on their balance sheets … we know many are looking to India.”
“很多中國大型科技公司的資產負債表上有數十億資金……我們知道其中很多公司正把眼光投向印度。”
The idea that China’s internet giants could play a larger role in India took hold last year with the arrival of Alibaba, the ecommerce group. Founder Jack Ma unveiled an aggressive investment strategy, putting $680m into payments group PayTM while also funding the likes of Snapdeal, India’s second-largest ecommerce site.
去年，隨着電商集團阿里巴巴(Alibaba)的到來，有關中國互聯網巨頭將在印度發揮更大作用的想法越來越爲人們所接受。阿里巴巴創始人馬雲(Jack Ma)公佈了一項雄心勃勃的投資策略，擬向支付公司PayTM注入6.8億美元資金，同時投資印度第二大電商網站Snapdeal等公司。
Alibaba’s model of first backing local start-ups rather than launching its own services is one that others have since followed, notably Chinese internet group Tencent, which led a $90m funding round for health technology group Practo last August.
阿里巴巴這種先投資當地初創企業而不是推出自己服務的方式已受到了其他企業的效仿，尤其是中國互聯網集團騰訊(Tencent)。去年8月，騰訊帶頭對醫療保健科技集團Practo發起了一輪9000萬美元的投資。
More are now weighing deals. Beijing-based search engine Baidu said last month that it was examining investments in three Indian start-ups including restaurant portal Zomato. Chinese smartphone makers such as Xiaomi have also said they plan to take stakes in local companies, as they target growth in India’s fast-growing mobile market.
還有更多企業也在權衡投資印度計劃。總部位於北京的搜索引擎公司百度(Baidu)上個月表示，該公司正在評估對包括餐館門戶網站Zomato在內的三家印度初創企業的投資。而小米(Xiaomi)等中國智能手機制造商也表示計劃入股印度企業，它們希望在印度快速發展的手機市場取得增長。
“More and more Chinese companies seem to see India as a second China. It isn’t something we are planning, but many will want to invest,” says Peter Lau, co-founder of OnePlus, a Shenzhen-based manufacturer of high-end mobile handsets looking to expand its own operations in India rather than investing in local start-ups.
一加手機(OnePlus)聯合創始人劉作虎(Peter Lau)表示：“越來越多的中國企業似乎在把印度看做第二個中國。這並不在我們的計劃之內，但許多企業希望投資印度。”一加手機是一家總部位於深圳的高端手機制造商，該公司希望在印度擴張自身業務，而不是投資於印度本土的初創企業。
The hope that Indian start-ups struggling to raise funds could find a Chinese saviour may well prove illusory. Chinese companies have so far been choosy over potential deals, with many wary of India’s complex business climate and unfamiliar culture.
對於募資困難的印度初創企業或許會遇上中國救星的希望，很可能被證明是不切實際的。到目前爲止，中國企業對潛在投資交易始終十分挑剔，許多企業對印度複雜的商業環境和陌生的文化十分警惕。
Others face growing problems at home as China’s economy slows, potentially limiting plans for big overseas expansion.
而由於中國經濟放緩，一些中國科技企業在國內正面臨日益增多的問題，這可能會限制它們大規模海外擴張的計劃。
Even Mr Ma is understood to have cooled on some deals of late, for instance putting on ice long-rumoured plans to buy a stake in Micromax, India’s largest domestic smartphone maker by sales.
即使是馬雲也被認爲近來已降低了對某些交易的熱情。比如，他擱置了傳聞已久的入股Micromax計劃，Micromax是印度國內銷量最大的智能手機制造商。
Equally, the Indian start-ups struggling to raise money from other sources are also likely to prove least attractive to Chinese investors as well.
同樣，難以從其他渠道籌集資金的印度初創企業，對中國投資者來說可能也缺少吸引力。
“The idea that Chinese companies will swoop in and save bad businesses — that isn’t going to happen,” says Ms Kola.
科拉表示：“有些人想着中國企業會從天而降、拯救處境不好的企業，這種事情是不會發生的。”
Still, Mr Yao of Cheetah Mobile says India continues to appeal to Chinese tech groups seeking new international opportunities, attracted both by the market’s potential size and its likely rapid growth as the country’s online population surpasses 500m in a few years’ time.
不過，獵豹移動的Alex Yao表示，對尋求在國際上找到新機遇的中國科技集團來說，印度仍有吸引力。它們一方面被印度市場的潛在規模吸引，一方面被其迅速增長的前景吸引——印度網民人數有望在幾年內超過5億。
“This is an under-developed market, at least three to five years behind China,” he says. “So Chinese companies think we can potentially replicate our successes by investing here, by playing for the long term.”
他說：“這是一個尚未充分發展的市場，至少比中國落後三到五年。因此，中國企業認爲，也許我們可以通過在這裏投資、立足長遠，複製我們的成功。”
