馬云“牽手”斯皮爾伯格

馬云“牽手”斯皮爾伯格

中國企業(yè)近來以前所未有的規(guī)模進軍好萊塢，這是中資海外收購狂潮整體的一部分，但這些投資正在某些圈子引發(fā)越來越大的爭議。

測試中可能遇到的詞匯和知識：

tycoon企業(yè)界大亨，巨頭；巨富[ta?'ku?n]

board seat董事會席位

distribution分布；分配[d?str?'bju??(?)n]

premium額外費用；獎金；保險費['pri?m??m]

spree狂歡；狂飲[spri?]

M&A tables并購市場排行榜

reciprocity相互性；互惠主義[,res?'pr?s?t?]

bilateral雙邊的；有兩邊的[ba?'l?t(?)r(?)l]

Alibaba’s Jack Ma joins up with Spielberg’s film group Amblin（464words）

By Tom Mitchell in Beijing

Jack Ma,the internet tycoon,is teaming up with Hollywood director Steven Spielberg in the latest Chinese investment in the US entertainment industry.

Alibaba Pictures,a Hong Kong-listed unit of China’s largest ecommerce group,said on Sunday that it would take a minority equity stake and board seat in Mr Spielberg’s Amblin Partners,a film production and distribution company. Terms of the deal were not announced.

Amblin was established at the end of last year with investments from Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group and Entertainment One,distributor of the British animation series Peppa Pig.

Alibaba will co-produce films with Amblin and help distribute them in China.

“Among Chinese consumers,there is an increasing demand for premium global content,”Mr Ma said in a statement,adding that he hoped the partnership would serve as a“cultural bridge”.

“Amblin Partners and Alibaba Pictures will be able to bring Chinese-themed stories to the American audience,”Mr Spielberg said at a briefing.“We can bring more of China to America,and bring some more of America to China.”

Chinese companies have been making unprecedented inroads into Hollywood as part of a much larger overseas buying spree. Investors from the world’s second-largest economy are on track to top global M&A tables for the first time this year.

But the investments are increasingly controversial in some circles. Last week,John Culberson,head of a US Congressional subcommittee that oversees funding for the Justice Department,said Hollywood investments by China’s richest man,Wang Jianlin,should be reviewed.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States,which vets acquisitions by overseas investors on national security grounds,has traditionally not expressed concerns about Chinese investment in Hollywood.

US entertainment purchases by Mr Wang’s Wanda Group include cinema chain AMC Entertainment Holdings and production company Legendary Entertainment.

Wanda has also entered into exclusive negotiation to acquire Dick Clark Productions,which stages the Golden Globe Awards and Miss America pageant.

Similar investments by foreign investors in China’s tightly controlled entertainment and media industries are not allowed,leading to calls for an increased emphasis on reciprocity in US and EU trade negotiations with Beijing.

On Saturday,China’s State Council said it would encourage foreign investment in sectors including sports and culture,but did not provide specifics.

Washington and Brussels are currently negotiating bilateral trade deals with Beijing that they hope will pry open industries last liberalised in the late 1990s,ahead of China’s entry into the World Trade Organisation.

According to the Hurun rich list,Mr Ma is China’s second wealthiest person with a fortune worth $22.7bn. Alibaba Pictures has previously invested in sequels from film series including Mission Impossible,Star Trek and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The Alibaba Group is best known for its Taobao ecommerce site and also owns Youku Tudou — China’s YouTube equivalent. Like Facebook and Twitter,YouTube is blocked in China.