They seemed like promising deals at the time. When Danone, a French food giant, acquired a 51% stake in Wahaha Beverage, a Chinese firm, in 1996, it considered it a coup. And in 2004 HSBC became the envy of rival banks when it acquired a 19.9% stake in Bank of Communications, the smallest of China's national banks and the only one that, by law, allowed for the possibility of full acquisition. In what has become a painfully familiar experience in China, however, both companies have since run into trouble. Danone's partnership with Wahaha has erupted into an acrimonious public dispute and the huge growth in Bank of Communication's assets has placed it within the small group of powerful banks that the Chinese government will not permit to be taken over.
展开▼
机译：他们当时看起来像是有希望的交易。法国食品巨头达能（Danone）在1996年收购中国公司Wahaha Beverage 51％的股份时，就认为这是一次政变。 2004年，汇丰（HSBC）收购了交通银行（Bank of Communications）19.9％的股份，这令竞争对手银行羡慕不已。交通银行是中国最小的国有银行，也是唯一一家在法律上允许完全收购的银行。然而，在中国已经成为一种令人痛苦的熟悉经历，两家公司都陷入了麻烦。达能与娃哈哈（Wahaha）的伙伴关系爆发了激烈的公共争端，而交通银行（Bank of Communications）资产的巨大增长使它成为了少数几家实力雄厚的银行之一，中国政府不允许这些银行被接管。
展开▼
