2008年4月22日 曼德尔森：日本为发达国家中最封闭投资市场

欧盟(EU)贸易专员彼得?曼德尔森(Peter Mandelson)昨日指责日本利用其它经济体的开放，同时在国内设置贸易和投资障碍。

Europe’s trade chief yesterday rounded on Japan for exploiting the openness of other economies while erecting barriers to trade and investment at home.

曼德尔森对欧日产业合作中心(EU-Japan Centre of Industrial Co-operation)发表了一次具有对抗意味的演讲，他表示，日本是“发达国家中最为封闭的投资市场”。在谈到日本做出的提高外国对日本直接投资的承诺时，他表示：“这尚未变成现实。” In a combative speech to the EU-Japan Centre of Industrial Co-operation, Peter Mandelson, the European Union trade commissioner, said Japan was “the most closed investment market in the developed world”. Referring to Japan’s stated commitment to increase the amount of in-bound foreign direct investment, he said: “This is not being translated into reality.”

在曼德尔森发表这一严厉讲话之前，日本政府以国家安全为由，拒绝了英国维权基金儿童投资基金(Children’s Investment Fund)有关将其在日本电力批发商日本电源开发公司(J-Power)股权比例提高一倍至20%的提议。日本政府这一决定引发了儿童投资基金管理合伙人克里斯?霍恩(Chris Hohn)的呼吁，要求外资在日本公司治理改善之前，避免在日本投资。

Mr Mandelson’s stern words come after Tokyo rejected, on national security grounds, a proposal by the Children’s Investment Fund, a UK activist fund, to double its stake in J-Power, an electric power wholesaler, to 20 per cent. That decision prompted a call by Chris Hohn, managing partner of TCI, to avoid investing in Japan until its corporate governance had improved.

曼德尔森表示，他并没有特指儿童投资基金的案例，但他就日本的外国直接投资比例较低的问题提出了更广泛的看法。关于日本政府否决外资投资日本电力市场的行为，他表示，从日本的法律和国际承诺来看，这或许能够成为理由。但他补充称：“日本的风险在于，这可能在海外被负面地解读为另一个信号，表明日本不欢迎外国投资。”

Mr Mandelson said he was not referring specifically to the TCI case, but making a wider point about Japan’s low foreign direct investment levels. On the government’s move to block investment in its electricity market, he said that it might be able to make a case based on its laws and international commitments. However, he added: “The risk for Japan is that overseas it is interpreted negatively as another signal that Japan doesn’t welcome foreign investment.”

在这篇似乎可能引发日本政府各部门强烈反应的演讲中，曼德尔森援引了一些数据，显示在欧盟累计3万亿美元的对外外国直接投资中，日本仅占3%。他表示，日本的外国直接投资比例在发达国家中处于最低水平，是经合组织(OECD)平均水平的七分之一。

In a speech that seems likely to provoke strong reaction from sections of the Japanese government, Mr Mandelson cited figures showing that Japan accounted for only 3 per cent of Europe’s $3,000bn in accumulated outbound foreign direct investment. Japan’s FDI penetration rate was the lowest among advanced nations and one-seventh of the Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development average, he said.

在拒绝儿童投资基金增持日本电源开发公司股份提议的同时，日本经济产业省和财务省上周发表了一份声明称：“继续放开投资和大力推动投资是日本的基本政策。”它们表示，2007年，日本累计外国直接投资已增长2.6万亿日元，为有记录以来第二大增幅，它们还指出，在过去3年760项投资通告中，他们只拒绝过一次。

Japan’s trade and finance ministries last week issued a statement to accompany their rejection of TCI’s proposal to increase its stake in J-Power, saying: “It is Japan’s fundamental policy to continue liberalisation of investment and to promote investment aggressively.” They said cumulative FDI had risen by Y2,600bn in 2007, the second-highest recorded jump and noted that, of 760 notifications of investments in the past three years, they had rejected just one.