中糧發(fā)現(xiàn)旗下荷蘭谷物經(jīng)銷商“會(huì)計(jì)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(guó)食品集團(tuán)中糧(Cofco)成為世界領(lǐng)先農(nóng)產(chǎn)品貿(mào)易商之一的努力再次遭遇挫折，該集團(tuán)發(fā)現(xiàn)其于2014年獲得控股權(quán)的荷蘭谷物經(jīng)銷商N(yùn)idera的賬目出現(xiàn)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(duì)英國(guó)《金融時(shí)報(bào)》表示，Nidera巴西業(yè)務(wù)的賬目虧空與所謂的預(yù)付款交易有關(guān)，即交易商在貨物交付前預(yù)先向供應(yīng)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(duì)巴西業(yè)務(wù)資產(chǎn)負(fù)債表的審查過(guò)程中發(fā)現(xiàn)了“會(huì)計(jì)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(gòu)這家荷蘭企業(yè)多數(shù)股權(quán)以來(lái)出現(xiàn)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，由于發(fā)現(xiàn)2億美元未經(jīng)授權(quán)的交易損失，Nidera報(bào)告了五年來(lái)的首次凈虧損。Nidera的一位發(fā)言人表示，該公司正在調(diào)查此次新出現(xiàn)的會(huì)計(jì)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(guó)《金融時(shí)報(bào)》報(bào)道了Nidera賬目1.5億美元虧空后，該公司在一份聲明中表示：“在以中糧為主席和控股股東的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)下，作為Nidera董事會(huì)改進(jìn)控制和風(fēng)險(xiǎn)管理計(jì)劃的一部分，新執(zhí)行領(lǐng)導(dǎo)層在整個(gè)集團(tuán)范圍發(fā)起了資產(chǎn)負(fù)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(chǎn)負(fù)債表中發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個(gè)會(huì)計(jì)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(bǔ)充說(shuō)，中糧已經(jīng)為其擔(dān)保了一筆貸款，以確保這家荷蘭公司不違反銀行契約。中糧沒有回復(fù)記者尋求置評(píng)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.

中糧立志成為世界領(lǐng)先的農(nóng)產(chǎn)品貿(mào)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(guò)去兩年，中糧斥資逾40億美元收購(gòu)了Nidera以及來(lái)寶集團(tuán)(Noble Group)的農(nóng)業(yè)貿(mào)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(jì)劃，一旦完成對(duì)Nidera和來(lái)寶業(yè)務(wù)的整合，將讓旗下農(nóng)產(chǎn)品貿(mào)易部門中糧農(nóng)業(yè)(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為中糧農(nóng)業(yè)準(zhǔn)備財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)表的過(guò)程中發(fā)現(xiàn)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(fā)現(xiàn)的問題可能推遲中糧農(nóng)業(yè)整合Nidera的進(jìn)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(gòu)了Nidera多數(shù)股權(quán)，后于今年3月以7.5億美元收購(gòu)了剩余49%的股份，實(shí)現(xiàn)了對(duì)Nidera股權(quán)的買斷，賣家是近一個(gè)世紀(jì)前創(chuàng)立這家總部位于鹿特丹的經(jīng)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(yè)不同，由于市場(chǎng)情況不利，農(nóng)產(chǎn)品貿(mào)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(xù)的供應(yīng)過(guò)剩對(duì)糧食價(jià)格造成了重壓，并使得在世界各地交易農(nóng)產(chǎn)品的機(jī)會(huì)減少。