DANONE FILES US LAWSUIT AGAINST WAHAHA
By Geoff Dyer in Shanghai
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
達能在美國起訴娃哈哈

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.
達能(Danone)針對中國合資伙伴娃哈哈(Wahaha)的行動已經升級。該公司已經在美國提起訴訟，起訴娃哈哈的一個子公司及兩名相關人士。

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.
這家法國食品集團昨日表示，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的一家公司非法銷售屬于合資企業的飲料。

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達兩個月的激烈爭執的最新進展，而這一爭執有可能導致雙方的合資企業解散。這家合資企業可謂中國境內商業上最為成功的合資公司之一，為達能貢獻了大約5%到6%的運營利潤，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.
達能控告娃哈哈另外創建銷售公司，推廣銷售兩家集團合資企業協議中涵蓋的飲料。

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硬的聲明進行了回應，指責達能采取“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（即娃哈哈創建人宗慶后）是越壓越硬，一旦真相告白于天下，達能告別中國為期亦不遠了，告別資本市場亦不遠了。”

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. 達能今年4月開始在中國針對娃哈哈采取法律行動。這家法國集團表示，上周，它已向瑞典一個機構提交了仲裁申請，這個機構處理過大量涉及在華外企的商業爭端。

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，中國海關上周查封了11.8萬升依云(Evian)礦泉水。依云是達能的一個品牌。有關官員稱，這些礦泉水中的菌落含量超標。

Danone said its water met international health standards and that it did not think the decision was linked to the dispute with Wahaha.
達能表示，其礦泉水符合國際健康標準，不過它并不認為上述結果與娃哈哈爭端有關。

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，達能對英屬維京群島注冊的恒楓貿易有限公司提出了起訴。達能稱，這家公司控制著杭州娃哈哈食品飲料營銷有限公司(Hangzhou Wahaha Food and Beverage Sales)，而后者正是非法銷售合資企業產品的那家貿易公司。