Businesses plan for possible end of euro
跨國企業為歐元區解體制定應急方案
International companies are preparing contingency plans for a possible break-up of the eurozone, interviews with dozens of multinational executives have revealed.
對數十名跨國公司高管的採訪顯示，國際企業正針對歐元區解體的可能性制定應急預案。
Concerned that Europe’s political leaders are failing to control the spreading sovereign debt crisis, business executives say they feel compelled to protect their companies against a crash that can no longer be wished away. When German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Nicolas Sarkozy raised the prospect of a Greek exit from the eurozone this month, it marked the first time that senior European officials had dared to question the permanence of their 13-year-old experiment with monetary union.
商界高管們擔憂，歐洲政治領導人未能遏制不斷蔓延的主權債務危機。他們表示，他們覺得有必要保護自己的企業，使其免受一場崩潰的沖擊，這種崩潰不能再想當然地認為不會發生。德國總理安格拉•默克爾(Angela Merkel)和法國總統尼古拉•薩科齊(Nicolas Sarkozy)本月提到希臘退出歐元區的可能性，而那標志著歐盟高層首次敢於質疑13年貨幣聯盟實驗的永久性。
“We’ve started thinking what [a break-up] might look like,” Andrew Morgan, president of Diageo Europe, said on Tuesday. “If you get some much bigger kind of . . . change around the euro, then we are into a different situation altogether. With countries coming out of the euro, you’ve got massive devaluation that makes imported brands very, very expensive.”
“我們已開始思考（解體）的局面會是什麽樣的，”帝亞吉歐歐洲(Diageo Europe)總裁安德魯•摩根(Andrew Morgan)周二表示。“如果圍繞歐元發生大得多的變化，那麽我們將處於完全不同的情況。隨著一些國家退出歐元，將發生貨幣大幅貶值，使進口品牌變得非常、非常昂貴。”
Executives’ concerns are emerging as eurozone finance ministers weigh ever more radical options to tackle the sovereign debt crisis, including the possibility of funnelling European Central Bank loans to struggling countries via the International Monetary Fund.
高管們的擔憂浮出水面之際，在如何對付主權債務危機的問題上，歐元區各國財長正在斟酌更為大刀闊斧的方案，包括將歐洲央行(ECB)貸款經由國際貨幣基金組織(IMF) 輸送至困境國家的可能性。
Car manufacturers, energy groups, consumer goods companies and other multinationals are minimising risk by placing cash reserves in safe investments and controlling non-essential expenditure. Siemens has established its own bank in order to deposit funds with the ECB.
汽車製造商、能源集團、日用消費品企業和其它跨國公司正在努力減小風險，具體做法包括把現金儲備投入安全的投資，以及控制非必需的開支。西門子(Siemens)建立了自己的銀行，以便把資金存放在歐洲央行。
Some are examining the legal consequences of a eurozone split for cross-border commercial contracts and loan agreements. “Market participants and, increasingly, real businesses are pricing in a break-up scenario,” said Jean Pisani-Ferry, director of the Brussels-based Bruegel think-tank.
某些企業在研究歐元區解體對跨境商業合同和貸款協議造成的法律後果。“市場參與者和越來越多的實體企業正將解體的情形計入價格，”布魯塞爾智庫Bruegel主任讓•皮薩尼-費里(Jean Pisani-Ferry)表示。
Some businesses with global reach believe a euro break-up would be grim but manageable. Jürgen Dieter Hoffmann, finance director at Volkswagen’s Portuguese arm, said: “The conclusion is that overall the impact would not be so negative to our company, as we are mainly an exporter and belong to a worldwide group.”
一些業務範圍遍及全球的企業相信，歐元區解體的局面是嚴峻的，但仍是可控的。大眾汽車(Volkswagen)葡萄牙部門財務總監於爾根•迪特爾•霍夫曼(Jürgen Dieter Hoffmann)表示：“結論是對我們公司來說，總體影響不至於那麽消極，因為我們主要是一家出口商，隸屬於一家全球性集團。”
Some French, Italian and Spanish executives have plans in place for severe financial and economic turbulence, but not specifically for a euro break-up. They fear the region’s stability might come under even greater threat if it was known that they are contemplating the worst.
一些法國、意大利和西班牙高管針對嚴重的金融和經濟動盪制定了預案，但並未特別針對歐元區解體制定計劃。他們擔心，如果大家都知道他們在考慮最糟糕的情況，歐元區的穩定可能受到更大威脅。
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