沙特资本颠覆全球体坛
《经济学人·商论》2023-08-20
今年夏天体育迷们屡屡大跌眼镜。卡洛斯·阿尔卡拉斯(Carlos Alcaraz)赢得温网冠军,结束了德约科维奇(Novak Djokovic)、费德勒(Roger Federer)和纳达尔(Rafael Nadal)三巨头多年来对网坛的统治。在高尔夫领域,美国公开赛和英国公开赛冷门迭报,夺冠的是赛前预测胜率不超过1%的黑马。8月6日,在瑞典队打进制胜点球后,已经多年难求一败的美国女足惨遭世界杯淘汰。这粒进球仅越过球门线几毫米。
SPORTS FANS have seen plenty of surprises this summer. Carlos Alcaraz won Wimbledon, ending years of domination of tennis by the trio of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. In golf the victors of the US Open and Britain’s Open were outsiders who were given odds of winning of 1% or less. On August 6th the all-conquering US women’s football team crashed out of the World Cup after Sweden scored a winning penalty. The ball crossed the goal line by only a few millimetres.
不过,最大的冲击发生在赛场外——沙特阿拉伯突然闯进了体育产业。该国受石油美元提振,并且在它事实上的统治者、37岁的穆罕默德·本·萨勒曼(MBS)的领导下急于重塑自身,已经在球员、球队和联赛上砸下100亿美元,颠覆了高尔夫和足球圈。这让西方球迷、活动人士和政客们感到不安,他们视之为对侵犯人权行为的“体育洗白”,抱怨这是对体育运动神圣奖杯的亵渎。
Yet the biggest shock has been off the field, as Saudi Arabia has barged into the sports industry. Pumped up on petrodollars and desperate to reinvent itself under Muhammad bin Salman (MBS), its 37-year-old de facto ruler, it has spent $10bn on players, teams and leagues, upending golf and football. That has upset Western fans, activists and politicians, who see it as “sportswashing” human-rights abuses, and complain about the desecration of the hallowed trophies of sport.
本刊不是萨勒曼的拉拉队,但这种“球迷宣泄”也经不起推敲。西方与沙特阿拉伯贸易广泛,这些体育交易不会让它糟糕的人权记录变得更糟,目前也不清楚该国能够或将会垄断并毁掉任何一项全球性体育运动。在一个动荡的世界中,许多球迷视自己支持的球队为自豪和稳定的源泉。但许多人忘记了体育也是一种正在被颠覆的产业。它需要对新资本和新想法敞开。
The Economist is no cheerleader for MBS, but this sports-venting does not bear scrutiny. The West trades widely with Saudi Arabia, the deals will not make its bad human-rights record worse, and it is not clear that the country could or would monopolise and destroy any global sport. In a turbulent world many fans see their teams as a source of pride and stability. But many forget that sport is also a business that is being disrupted. It needs to be open to new capital and fresh ideas.... ...
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《经济学人·商论》2022-07-13
Meet the world’s most flirtatious sovereign-wealth fund
《经济学人·商论》2020-06
Raid on the piggy banks
每隔一周的周一,俄罗斯直接投资基金(RDIF)的老板基里尔·德米特里耶夫(Kirill Dmitriev)都会拨入Zoom,与来自世界各地的15位同行聊天。长达数小时的通话通常能产生有关疫情和金融市场现状的宝贵信息。
德米特里耶夫说,他很早就深信疫情会很严重。RDIF也一早就投资了疫苗研究和测试,这个基金代表俄罗斯政府管理500亿美元资金。它还向在线教育平台uchi.ru和俄罗斯版奈飞ivi.ru等私营企业注资。与此同时,其他的主权财富基金,比如沙特阿拉伯的公共投资基金(PIF),则在股市抄底。今年前三个月,PIF斥资80亿美元购入了从波音到优步等公司的股份。
过去20年中,全球90多只主权财富基金在市场上获得了巨大的影响力(见图表1)。它们管理的资产总计超过八万亿美元,大约相当于全球GDP的10%。经济衰退为它们提供了机会。它们没有保险公司或养老基金背负的义务,是极为耐心的投资者,可以大举“捡便宜”。但疫情也带来了压力。由于各国政府都在努力防止国内经济崩溃,主权财富基金被敦促拿出钱来,而此时很多基金来自石油和大宗商品的收入又已枯竭。这种压力可能导致这些基金改变投资方式。
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