Shorting U.S.-listed Chinese companies is so yesterday. That’s the opinion of some hedge fund managers who’ve made money and are struggling to place fresh bets.

　　做空赴美上市的中國公司已經(jīng)過時。這是一些曾經(jīng)賺到錢但再次做空遇到困難的對沖基金經(jīng)理所持的觀點(diǎn)。

　　Chinese firms listed in the U.S. have made headlines in recent months amid allegations of fraud and a clampdown by regulators. By the Securities and Exchange Commission’s account, more than two dozen Chinese firms listed in the U.S. in March and April alone announced auditor resignations or other major accounting travails.

　　因被指欺詐并受到監(jiān)管機(jī)構(gòu)整頓，赴美上市的中國公司在近幾個月成為媒體關(guān)注的焦點(diǎn)。根據(jù)美國證券交易委員會(Securities and Exchange Commission)的說法，僅在3月份和4月份，就有20多家在美國上市的中國公司宣布審計機(jī)構(gòu)退出或出現(xiàn)其他重大會計問題。

　　Hedge funds have been circling Chinese stocks they want to bet against and focusing on those which listed through a backdoor process known as a “reverse merger” or “reverse takeover” that requires them to disclose less information to investors than a traditional initial public offering.

　　Reuters/Sukree Sukplan投資銀行Kerrisdale Capital Management LLC.的阿德朗吉說，這種情況一登上財經(jīng)報紙頭版，很多人馬上就開始效仿，生意全都做不下去了。對沖基金一直逡巡于它們希望做空的中國概念股周圍，并盯上了那些通過“反向并購”實(shí)現(xiàn)借殼上市的公司。相比進(jìn)行傳統(tǒng)的首次公開募股(IPO)，通過反向并購上市的公司按要求需要向投資者披露的信息更少。

　　“As soon as the story hits the front pages of the financial newspapers then a lot more people start piling in,” said Sahm Adrangi at Kerrisdale Capital Management LLC. “Every trade comes to an end.”

　　投資銀行Kerrisdale Capital Management LLC.的阿德朗吉(Sahm Adrangi)說，這種情況一登上財經(jīng)報紙頭版，很多人馬上就開始效仿，生意全都做不下去了。

　　According to a letter to Kerrisdale investors, the New York based investment firm gained 73% in the first quarter, net of fees, one of the best-performing hedge funds globally. Short bets on Chinese companies were a big reason for its success.

　　Kerrisdale致投資者信顯示，一季度這家紐約投行除去管理費(fèi)后實(shí)現(xiàn)了73%的收益，成為全球業(yè)績最好的對沖基金之一。做空中國公司股票是它取得成功的一個重要原因。

　　However, “this trade’s becoming more crowded and the opportunity is not as exciting as it was six months ago,” he said.

　　但他說，做這種交易的人越來越多，現(xiàn)在的時機(jī)已經(jīng)不像六個月以前那樣激動人心。

　　John Hempton, chief investment officer at hedge fund Bronte Capital, based in a suburb of Sydney, Australia, agrees. He has about half of his short positions in Chinese stocks. In a letter to clients in May Bronte Capital said one of its accounts was up 65% in the year to date.

　　位于澳大利亞悉尼郊區(qū)的對沖基金B(yǎng)ronte Capital首席投資長漢普頓(John Hempton)也是這樣認(rèn)為。他一半左右的空頭頭寸都押在了中國公司股上面。Bronte Capital在5月份致信客戶說，它的一個賬戶今年以來已增值65%。

　　“This year lots of frauds we have been aware of for some time have imploded. We have been working hard to find the next trade but the competition is much harder and the obvious frauds are already beaten up and have high short interest,” he said.

　　漢普頓說，我們在一段時間以前就已經(jīng)知曉的很多欺詐行為已在今年敗露；我們一直在努力尋找下一筆生意，但競爭已經(jīng)比原來激烈得多，而明顯的欺詐行為已經(jīng)暴露無遺，并且相關(guān)股票的賣空比例已經(jīng)很高。

　　In the past, he could quickly study the financial statements of a Chinese company, work out relatively quickly that something looked odd and short the stock. “That gig is up,” he said.

　　在過去，他可以快速地研究某家中國公司的財務(wù)報表，相對快地發(fā)現(xiàn)某些地方不對勁，然后做空該股。他說，這樣的情況現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)不復(fù)存在了。

　　Shorting Chinese stocks has always been tricky and demand has been growing fast in recent years. Hedge fund managers can’t sell stocks in China’s A-share market directly. Many have turned to selling Chinese stocks listed in Hong Kong known as H-shares. However, even though the number of stocks available for shorting has grown rapidly since 2007, bankers servicing hedge funds say demand often outstrips supply.

　　做空中國股票一直不易，這方面的需求在最近幾年也一直快速增長。對沖基金經(jīng)理無法直接在中國A股市場出售股票，于是很多人改為出售在香港上市的中國股，也就是H股。不過，雖然2007年可用于做空的股票數(shù)量已經(jīng)快速增加，但為對沖基金服務(wù)的銀行人士說，需求常常超過了供給。

　　U.S.-listed Chinese stocks have generally been easier to short, but now that space is getting very crowded.

　　一般來講，在美國上市的中國股更方便做空，但現(xiàn)在這個領(lǐng)域已經(jīng)變得非常擁擠。

　　One prime brokerage banker said that hedge funds can only borrow stock to sell short in about 10% of Chinese companies that listed in the U.S. via a reverse takeover, due to supply constraints. Demand from hedge funds grew sharply in the first few months of the year. “Everything’s exhausted and dried up,” he said.

　　一位一級經(jīng)紀(jì)行人士說，由于供應(yīng)受限，通過反向收購在美國上市的中國公司中，只有大約10%的公司股票可以被對沖基金借去做空。今年頭幾個月對沖基金的需求大幅增加。他說，所有一切都一干二凈。

　　In many such stocks, about 20% to 40% of the market capitalization is already out on loan to short sellers. In the case of one stock, Puda Coal Inc., 73% of the free float is out on loan, he said. Generally if the percentage on loan reaches double-digits that is widely considered significant short interest.

　　在很多這類股票當(dāng)中，占各自公司市值20%到40%的股票都已經(jīng)被借給了空頭。他說，普大煤業(yè)(Puda Coal Inc.)73%的流通股都已經(jīng)被借了出去。一般來講，如果借出股票占比達(dá)到10%以上，那么該股就被認(rèn)為存在很大的賣空比例。

　　Investors who want to short shares borrow the stock and then sell it, betting that the price of the shares will fall and that they can buy them back at a lower price, for return to the lender, usually a broker. In order to borrow the shares, the investors have to pay the owner a fee, normally an annualized percentage of the stock’s value.

　　想要做空股票的投資者會借入股票并賣出，押注股價將會下跌，然后就可以用更低的價格把這些股票買回來還給出借方。出借方常常是一家經(jīng)紀(jì)行。為借入股票，投資者要向股票所有人支付一筆費(fèi)用，這筆費(fèi)用通常是這批股票價值的一個年化比例。

　　The cost of borrowing the stock to sell short is unusually high right now. In the case of China Agritech Inc. and China-Biotics, Inc., for example, a hedge fund would have to pay 99% of the annualized value of the shares ─ making it essential that the shares fall precipitously for the borrower to end up with a decent profit.

　　借入股票用以做空的成本目前高得反常。比如對于艾瑞泰克(China Agritech Inc.)和雙金生物(China-Biotics, Inc.)，投資者要付出相當(dāng)于所借股票年化價值99%的費(fèi)用，這意味著只有當(dāng)這些股票的價格筆直下跌時，投資者最后才能獲得一筆可觀的利潤。

　　Maybe hedge funds need to stop seeking safety in numbers and research new ideas.

　　或許對沖基金不應(yīng)該繼續(xù)在數(shù)字中尋找安全感，而應(yīng)該研究新的點(diǎn)子出來。