壞賬泥潭中 印度尋歡之王變成欠債大王

NEW DELHI — Three months before he left Indiawith $1.4 billion in unpaid bills hanging over hishead, the man who called himself the King of GoodTimes gave a party for himself.

新德里——這個(gè)自稱是“尋歡之王”(King of Good Times)的男人離開了印度，名下掛著14億美元未付的賬單;在動(dòng)身的三個(gè)月之前，他給自己舉辦了一個(gè)派對(duì)。

Vijay Mallya, a beer-and-airline magnate whopublishes a swimsuit calendar and cavorts withcelebrities, invited the pop singer Enrique Iglesias,the Bollywood star Sonu Nigam and some top Indian business figures to his villa in the coastalIndian state of Goa to celebrate his 60th birthday.

維賈伊·馬爾雅(Vijay Mallya)是啤酒和航空業(yè)大亨，一本泳裝日歷的出版人，常與名人尋歡作樂。他邀請(qǐng)流行歌手恩里克·伊格萊西亞斯(Enrique Iglesias)、寶萊塢明星索努·尼加(Sonu Nigam)以及一些印度商界名流前往他在果阿邦海岸的別墅，一起慶祝他的60歲生日。

“My biggest assets are my friends,” he told the revelers, according to a local media report, “andthey are all here tonight.”

“我最大的資產(chǎn)就是我的朋友，”據(jù)當(dāng)?shù)孛襟w報(bào)道，他告訴狂歡者說，“他們今晚都在這里。”

The party — for Mr. Mallya and for the rest of corporate India — is now over. Banks in Indiaand elsewhere are pressing Mr. Mallya to get their money back. Authorities accuse him ofmoney laundering, bribing bank officials, defaulting on loans and other misdeeds.

派對(duì)現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)結(jié)束。無論是對(duì)馬爾雅，還是其他印度企業(yè)，都是如此。印度以及其他地方的銀行要求馬爾雅歸還欠它們的款項(xiàng)。當(dāng)局指控他洗錢、賄賂銀行官員、拖欠貸款，還有其他一些不當(dāng)行為。

Last weekend Indian authorities canceled Mr. Mallya’s passport, nearly a week after a court inMumbai issued a warrant for his arrest. On Thursday, India’s Foreign Ministry said it wouldask Britain — where authorities believe he is staying — to deport him.

孟買法庭簽發(fā)了對(duì)他的逮捕令，將近一周之后，印度當(dāng)局于上周末取消了他的護(hù)照。本周四，印度外交部表示將要求英國——當(dāng)局認(rèn)為他目前待在那里——將他遣返。

Mr. Mallya is now widely pilloried by the news media and by some politicians in India as one ofthe worst examples from a corporate borrowing binge that has mired the country in bad debt.Economists and government officials say heavy corporate debt and bad bank loans are holdingback growth and harming Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious economic agenda.

如今，新聞媒體和印度的一些政界人士普遍指責(zé)馬爾雅是公司借貸狂潮最臭名昭著的典型之一。正是這股狂潮導(dǎo)致印度陷入了壞賬的泥潭。經(jīng)濟(jì)專家和政府官員稱，高額的公司債務(wù)和銀行不良貸款正在抑制增長，破壞印度總理納倫德拉·莫迪(Narendra Modi)野心勃勃的經(jīng)濟(jì)議程。

“We hide the sickness and ultimately it’s the poor who suffer,” said K. C. Chakrabarty, a formerdeputy governor of India’s central bank. “We are addressing Vijay Mallya. He’s not theproblem. He’s the symptom of the problem.”

“我們掩蓋弊端，最終是窮人受苦，”前印度央行副行長K·C·沙克拉巴迪(K. C. Chakrabarty)說。“我們正在解決維賈伊·馬爾雅的問題。但他本身并不是問題的所在。他只是問題的癥狀。”

Mr. Mallya, who left India last month, disputes accusations by Indian lawmakers and lendersthat he fled the country to avoid bad debts. “I am an international businessman,” he said onTwitter. “I travel to and from India frequently. I did not flee from India and neither am I anabsconder. Rubbish.”

上月離開印度的馬爾雅不同意印度議員和債權(quán)人稱他逃離印度是為了躲避壞賬的指控。“我是一個(gè)跨國商人，”他在Twitter上說。“我頻繁進(jìn)出印度。我沒有逃離印度，也不是潛逃者。一派胡言。”

Even in a time when China, Europe and other places grapple with bad debt, the depths ofIndia’s once-hidden problems are notable. Pressed by the central bank in September to comeclean about their debt woes, India’s banks are reporting billions of dollars’ worth of loans thatmost likely will not be repaid.

盡管中國、歐洲和其他一些地方都在努力應(yīng)對(duì)壞賬問題，但印度一度被掩蓋的深層次問題仍是值得注意的。去年9月，印度央行敦促該國銀行清理各自的債務(wù)問題。眼下，印度銀行通報(bào)的極有可能無法收回的貸款價(jià)值數(shù)以十億計(jì)美元。

Credit Suisse estimated that bad loans in the final months of last year totaled nearly $128billion, making up more than 11 percent of outstanding loans, and said India’s banking systemhad still more “unrecognized stress.”

瑞信(Credit Suisse)估計(jì)，去年最后幾個(gè)月的壞賬總額接近1280億美元，占未償還貸款的11%以上。瑞信稱印度的銀行體系還面臨著更多“尚未被外界發(fā)現(xiàn)的壓力”。

The pain has rippled outside the country. Standard Chartered, a British bank, said in Februarythat its India unit lost nearly $1 billion last year. The bank says it is selling problem loans.

印度債務(wù)問題的影響已經(jīng)蔓延到了國外。英國渣打銀行(Standard Chartered)曾在2月表示，其在印度的分公司去年虧損近10億美元。該銀行稱正在出售問題貸款。

Diageo, the British spirits maker, has also been hit, after guaranteeing a $135 million loan lastyear from Standard Chartered to a company affiliated with Mr. Mallya. Diageo says it ispursuing the matter.

英國烈酒生產(chǎn)商帝亞吉?dú)W(Diageo)也受到了影響。去年，渣打銀行向一家隸屬于馬爾雅的公司提供了1.35億美元貸款，帝亞吉?dú)W為其提供了擔(dān)保。該公司稱正在追查此事。

The sour loans are raising questions about whether India’s financial system could deal with thesort of debt crisis that hit the United States and Europe in 2008. “We’re coming so late into thetoo-big-to-fail issue,” said Susan Thomas, assistant professor at the Indira Gandhi Institute forDevelopment Research in Mumbai and a member of the country’s bankruptcy law reformcommittee.

不良貸款令外界對(duì)印度的金融制度心生疑慮，擔(dān)心它無法應(yīng)對(duì)美國和歐洲在2008年遭遇的那種債務(wù)危機(jī)。“我們遇到‘大到不能倒’這個(gè)問題的時(shí)間太晚了，”孟買英迪拉·甘地發(fā)展研究院(Indira Gandhi Institute forDevelopment Research)助理教授、印度破產(chǎn)法改革委員會(huì)成員蘇珊·托馬斯(Susan Thomas)說。

As in China, which is dealing with its own corporate debt hangover, India’s troubles stemfrom its efforts to spur growth after the 2008 global financial crisis. Regulators loosened fiscaland monetary policies and allowed many industries to restructure loans rather than let themgo sour. It also allowed a moratorium on interest payments. Lenders responded, and over thenext four years bank lending to nonfinancial companies roughly doubled.

和正在解決公司債務(wù)遺留問題的中國一樣，印度的問題源自其在2008年全球金融危機(jī)爆發(fā)后，為刺激增長而采取的一系列措施。監(jiān)管機(jī)構(gòu)放寬了財(cái)政和貨幣政策，允許很多行業(yè)重組債務(wù)，而不是讓它們變成壞賬。印度還允許延期支付利息。債權(quán)人做出了回應(yīng)。在接下來的四年里，銀行發(fā)放給非金融公司的貸款大致增加了一倍。

But people inside and outside the country increasingly worried about rising defaults and banks’ability to meet new global financial stability requirements. In September, Raghuram Rajan,India’s top central banker, ordered lenders to provide a full accounting.

但是，印度國內(nèi)外人士越來越擔(dān)心拖欠債務(wù)的情況會(huì)增多，銀行無力滿足全球金融穩(wěn)定的新要求。去年9月，印度央行行長拉古拉姆·拉詹(Raghuram Rajan)要求放款機(jī)構(gòu)提供完整賬務(wù)。

Mr. Mallya — who in India is often compared to Richard Branson, the British entrepreneur — isone of India’s most famous names. His company, the United Breweries Group, makes Kingfisherbeer and sells everything from alcohol to chemicals and fertilizer. He has a personal stake inIndia’s only Formula One team. He is a regular presence on the party circuit, and madeheadlines 10 years ago when he held a lavish birthday party at which the singer Lionel Richiewas the star performer.

馬爾雅在印度很出名，經(jīng)常與英國企業(yè)家理查德·布蘭森(Richard Branson)相提并論。他的公司聯(lián)合釀造集團(tuán)(United Breweries Group)生產(chǎn)翠鳥牌啤酒(Kingfisher)，并銷售酒精飲料、化學(xué)品和肥料等各種產(chǎn)品。他個(gè)人在印度唯一的一級(jí)方程式賽車隊(duì)持有股份。他是派對(duì)圈的?？?，10年前舉辦的一場奢華生日請(qǐng)到歌手萊昂內(nèi)爾·里奇(Lionel Richie)獻(xiàn)唱，登上了報(bào)紙頭條。

“I work hard and I play hard, too,” he once said. “There is nothing wrong with that.”

“我努力工作，也放肆玩樂，”他曾經(jīng)這樣說，“這沒什么錯(cuò)。”

When the post-2008 lending binge hit, Mr. Mallya saw a chance to help one of his newerbusinesses: airlines. His Kingfisher Airlines was initially modeled on the low-cost Americancarrier JetBlue, with an all-economy configuration that included seat-back TVs, unheard of onIndian domestic flights.

2008年后的貸款狂潮開始，馬爾雅發(fā)現(xiàn)它可以幫助自己的新生意：航空公司。他的翠鳥航空(KingfisherAirlines)最初是效仿美國廉價(jià)航空公司捷藍(lán)(JetBlue)，采用全經(jīng)濟(jì)艙配置，配有當(dāng)時(shí)印度國內(nèi)航班上從未有過的座椅后背電視。

Mr. Mallya quickly added a lavish business class to Kingfisher. Roomy seats came withchampagne glasses filled with cider, since India forbids alcohol on domestic flights. The airlinewas a pet project of Mr. Mallya’s; he examined the in-flight napkins and interviewed some ofthe prospective flight attendants himself.

馬爾雅很快給翠鳥航空增加了一款奢華的商務(wù)艙。機(jī)上座位寬敞，供應(yīng)用香檳酒杯盛放的蘋果汁——因?yàn)橛《冉箛鴥?nèi)航班供應(yīng)酒精飲料。馬爾雅特別青睞這個(gè)項(xiàng)目，親自檢查機(jī)上餐巾，并面試部分乘務(wù)員。

But Kingfisher Airlines suffered from an inefficient mix of planes and tough competition,which increased when it started flying internationally. Capitalizing on the looser lendingpractices, the airline persuaded its lenders to restructure its debt. Two years later, in 2012,Kingfisher stopped flying in the face of high fuel prices and a global slowdown.

但是由于機(jī)型組合效率低，開飛國際航線后競爭更加激烈，翠鳥航空陷入困境。它利用更寬松的貸款政策，說服放款機(jī)構(gòu)重組它的債務(wù)。兩年后，2012年，面對(duì)高昂的燃油價(jià)格和全球經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退，翠鳥航空停飛。

Kingfisher owed at least $1.4 billion in loans, much of it to state-controlled banks, as well asback pay to former employees and other bills. Because Mr. Mallya and his United BreweriesHoldings backed some of the loans, creditors began pressing them for repayment. The disputebegan to wind its way through the courts. Banks tried to seize Mr. Mallya’s assets, including hisestate in Goa.

翠鳥至少欠下14億美元貸款——大多是借自國有控股銀行——另外還有前雇員的欠薪和其他未付賬單。由于部分貸款的擔(dān)保人是馬爾雅以及他的聯(lián)合釀造控股公司(United Breweries Holdings)，所以債權(quán)人開始催促他們償還。訴訟開始在各個(gè)法院展開。銀行試圖凍結(jié)馬爾雅的資產(chǎn)，包括他在果阿邦的地產(chǎn)。

Late last year authorities raided Mr. Mallya’s homes and offices in Mumbai, Bangalore and Goa.As his lavish lifestyle came under scrutiny, he began to say less publicly. “Once a media witchhunt starts it escalates into a raging fire where truth and facts are burnt to ashes,” he said inMarch on Twitter.

去年年底，印度當(dāng)局突然搜查馬爾雅在孟買、班加羅爾和果阿邦的家和辦公室。隨著奢華的生活方式遭到監(jiān)視，他開始減少公開發(fā)言。“媒體迫害一旦開始，就會(huì)逐步升級(jí)為熊熊烈火，把真相燒為灰燼，”今年3月，他在Twitter上說。

By early March, banks had asked India’s highest court to seize Mr. Mallya’s passport. By then hehad already left, setting off criticism. “How did he run away from the country?” asked RahulGandhi, vice president of India’s main opposition party, the Congress party. “How did youallow him to escape?”

到3月初，已經(jīng)有多家銀行要求印度最高法院凍結(jié)馬爾雅的護(hù)照。那時(shí)他已離開印度，從而引發(fā)批評(píng)。“他是怎么逃出國的?”印度主要反對(duì)黨國民大會(huì)黨(Congress party)副主席拉胡爾·甘地(Rahul Gandhi)問道，“你們?cè)趺茨茉试S他逃跑?”

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in Parliament that the country’s banks were seeking to recover“every penny” from Mr. Mallya.

財(cái)政部長阿倫·賈伊特利(Arun Jaitley)在國會(huì)上說，印度多家銀行正努力從馬爾雅那里拿回“每一分錢”。

Indian officials have continued to warn about the impact of debt on the economy.

印度的官員們繼續(xù)警告?zhèn)鶆?wù)對(duì)經(jīng)濟(jì)的影響。

“Debt is very much like a dynamite,” said Mr. Rajan, the central banker, in December. “It is aninstrument which is very useful in right places and explosive in others.”

“債務(wù)很像炸藥，”印度央行行長拉詹去年12月說，“用對(duì)了是利器，用錯(cuò)了就會(huì)造成破壞。”