DANONE FILES US LAWSUIT AGAINST WAHAHA
By Geoff Dyer in Shanghai
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
達(dá)能在美國(guó)起訴娃哈哈

Danone has stepped up its campaign against its Chinese joint venture partner, Wahaha by filing a lawsuit in the US against one of its subsidiaries and two people connected to it.
達(dá)能(Danone)針對(duì)中國(guó)合資伙伴娃哈哈(Wahaha)的行動(dòng)已經(jīng)升級(jí)。該公司已經(jīng)在美國(guó)提起訴訟，起訴娃哈哈的一個(gè)子公司及兩名相關(guān)人士。

The French food group said yesterday it was taking legal action in a Los Angeles court against a Wahaha company registered in the British Virgin Islands that it claims has been illegally selling drinks that are part of the joint venture.
這家法國(guó)食品集團(tuán)昨日表示，它已向洛杉磯一家法庭提起訴訟，指控娃哈哈在英屬維京群島注冊(cè)的一家公司非法銷售屬于合資企業(yè)的飲料。

The lawsuit is the latest step in a bitter two-month dispute between the two companies that could lead to the collapse of one of the most commercially successful joint ventures in China. It provides about 5-6 per cent of Danone's operating profits and had sales of �bn ($1.35bn) last year.
這次起訴是兩家公司之間長(zhǎng)達(dá)兩個(gè)月的激烈爭(zhēng)執(zhí)的最新進(jìn)展，而這一爭(zhēng)執(zhí)有可能導(dǎo)致雙方的合資企業(yè)解散。這家合資企業(yè)可謂中國(guó)境內(nèi)商業(yè)上最為成功的合資公司之一，為達(dá)能貢獻(xiàn)了大約5%到6%的運(yùn)營(yíng)利潤(rùn)，去年銷售額為10億歐元（合13.5億美元）。

Danone has accused Wahaha of creating a separate sales company which was marketing and distributing drinks that were part of the joint venture agreement between the two groups.
達(dá)能控告娃哈哈另外創(chuàng)建銷售公司，推廣銷售兩家集團(tuán)合資企業(yè)協(xié)議中涵蓋的飲料。

Wahaha responded yesterday with a strongly worded statement, accusing Danone of “ridiculous” tactics and of “utilising global pressure” to force Wahaha to concede.
娃哈哈昨日以一份措辭強(qiáng)硬的聲明進(jìn)行了回應(yīng)，指責(zé)達(dá)能采取“荒謬可笑”的策略，想通過“全球施壓”逼娃哈哈就范。

“They do not understand chairman Zong [Qinghou, the founder of Wahaha]. The more you press him, the harder he will become. Once the truth is revealed to the public, Danone's departure from China and the capital markets will not be far away,” Wahaha said.
娃哈哈表示：“其不了解宗總（即娃哈哈創(chuàng)建人宗慶后）是越壓越硬，一旦真相告白于天下，達(dá)能告別中國(guó)為期亦不遠(yuǎn)了，告別資本市場(chǎng)亦不遠(yuǎn)了。”

Danone began legal proceedings in China against Wahaha in April. The French group said last week it had filed for arbitration with a body in Sweden that handles a lot of commercial disputes involving foreign companies in China. 達(dá)能今年4月開始在中國(guó)針對(duì)娃哈哈采取法律行動(dòng)。這家法國(guó)集團(tuán)表示，上周，它已向瑞典一個(gè)機(jī)構(gòu)提交了仲裁申請(qǐng)，這個(gè)機(jī)構(gòu)處理過大量涉及在華外企的商業(yè)爭(zhēng)端。

In a separate development, Chinese customs last week seized 118,000 litres of Evian mineral water, a Danone brand, which officials said contained unacceptable levels of bacteria.
另外，中國(guó)海關(guān)上周查封了11.8萬升依云(Evian)礦泉水。依云是達(dá)能的一個(gè)品牌。有關(guān)官員稱，這些礦泉水中的菌落含量超標(biāo)。

Danone said its water met international health standards and that it did not think the decision was linked to the dispute with Wahaha.
達(dá)能表示，其礦泉水符合國(guó)際健康標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，不過它并不認(rèn)為上述結(jié)果與娃哈哈爭(zhēng)端有關(guān)。

In the California case, Danone is suing Ever Maple Trading, a British Virgin Islands company that it says controls Hangzhou Wahaha Food and Beverage Sales, the sales company Danone claims is illegally selling the joint venture's products
在加州訴訟案中，達(dá)能對(duì)英屬維京群島注冊(cè)的恒楓貿(mào)易有限公司提出了起訴。達(dá)能稱，這家公司控制著杭州娃哈哈食品飲料營(yíng)銷有限公司(Hangzhou Wahaha Food and Beverage Sales)，而后者正是非法銷售合資企業(yè)產(chǎn)品的那家貿(mào)易公司。