酷兔英语


Tired of fusty old outposts such as Bangladesh, Nigeria or Mongolia? Try the world's newest -- and possibly smallest -- stock market, the Laos Securities Exchange.


厌倦了孟加拉国、尼日利亚和蒙古这样落后的边远小国?现在来试试全世界最新的、可能也是最小的股市吧:老挝证券交易所(Laos Securities Exchange)。



This landlocked, Communist-run nation of six million people is best known for being the most heavily bombed country per capita after the U.S. flew more than half a million bombing missions there during the Vietnam War. More recently, Laos has become an exotic destination for adventure-seeking tourists to take photographs of Buddhist monks.


这个共产党执政、有着600万人口的内陆国家以遭受轰炸最严重之国而闻名,越南战争期间美国在那里发起了50多万次飞机轰炸任务。最近,老挝成为一个异域风情的目的地,许多寻求冒险的游客来到这里用相机记录佛教僧侣的风采。



But Tuesday, it is shaking off some of its socialist constraints and opening its first stock exchange -- a move its leaders hope will eventually reel in foreign and local capital and help transform the fortunes of one of Asia's poorest and least industrialized nations.


但在周二,这个国家甩掉了一些社会主义的限制,启动了首个证券交易所,其领导人希望此举最终能吸引外国和本地资本,帮助这个亚洲最穷、工业化程度最低的国家改头换面。



Despite what locals say is an auspicious launch date -- 11/1/11 -- this isn't a 'big bang' type of event, or at least not just yet. Just two stocks are listing: a bank, Banque Pour Le Commerce Exterieur Lao, or BCEL, and, significantly, power company EDL-Generation Co., which many investors see as a way of getting some exposure to Laos's burgeoning hydropower industry and its fast-growing electricity exports to other, larger Southeast Asian economies.


尽管当地人说启动日2011年1月11日是个吉祥日,但这并非"大爆炸"式事件,或者说目前还不是。仅有两家公司上市,一家是Banque Pour Le Commerce Exterieur Lao(简称BCEL)银行,另一家是电力公司EDL-Generation Co.,许多投资者希望借此在老挝蓬勃发展的水力发电行业以及其快速增长的、向其他更大东南亚经济体输出电力的电力出口领域分一杯羹。



Even then, state-run parent company Electricite du Laos will retain 75% of the power company, and some investors still say they worry about speculation among local investors destabilizing the entire market.


即便如此,国营的母公司Electricite du Laos仍持有该公司75%的股份,一些投资者还说,他们担心本地投资者的投机行为会搅乱整个市场的稳定。



The real benefit for Laos launching its equity market, analysts say, might be in highlighting the potential for the country's isolated economy and encouraging its Marxist rulers to spin off other state-controlled businesses and take them to the securities exchange. The Laos bourse is 49%-owned by the South Korean stock exchange and is housed in a glass-front, $10 million building.


分析师说,老挝开启证券市场的真正好处也许在于凸显该国孤立经济的潜力,鼓励其马克思主义执政者分拆其它国有控股的企业并将它们带入证券交易所。该交易所49%的股权属于韩国证券交易所(South Korean stock exchange),位于一座造价1000万美元的有着玻璃外 的大楼内。



'I think we need to be modest in our expectations, but this is the beginning of a process that could end up with 10 or 15 companies listed on the market in the next few years,' says Douglas Clayton, chief executive of fund manager Leopard Capital LP, which invested 21.5 billion kip, or about $2.6 million, to buy 2.32% of EDL-Generation's initial public offering.


Leopard Capital LP基金管理公司首席执行长克雷顿(Douglas Clayton)说,我认为,我们需要保持适度的预期,但这只是个开始,未来几年内,可能会有10或15家公司在这个交易所上市。该基金管理公司投资215亿基普(约260万美元)购买了EDL-Generation首次公开发行股票中2.32%的股份。



James Hookway