A prominent Chinese client’s tirade against Morgan Stanley on the country’s largest microblogging service has gone viral, the first time a global bank has become entangled in the country’s raucous internet culture.
摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)一位知名中国客户在中国最大的微博服务上大骂该行，引起热议。这是一家全球银行首次卷入中国互联网文化的闹剧。
In a rhymed rap-style post laced with bad language, Li Guoqing, chief executive of Chinese book retailer Dangdang, on Saturday accused the underwriters of the group’s New York IPO of undervaluing the company.
中国图书零售商当当网(Dangdang)首席执行官李国庆上周六发表了一首充斥脏词的摇滚歌词，指责该集团纽约首次公开发行(IPO)的承销商低估了其价值。
By Monday, the lyrics had been re-posted more than 6,000 times and attracted more than 2,700 comments.
到本周一，这首歌词已被转贴逾6000次，吸引了超过2700条评论。
The incident highlights the public relations risks for multinationals posed by the Chinese internet, with its more than 440m users.
此事突显出中国互联网给跨国公司带来的公关风险。中国的网民人数超过4.40亿。
In the absence of political checks and balances, and with a strictly censored traditional media, online social media have become an echo chamber for negative news and rumours.
在政治制衡机制缺失、传统媒体受到严格审查的环境中，在线社交媒体已成为负面新闻和传言的回音室。
Mr Li’s unprintable attack implied that when bankers first pitched for the mandate they suggested Dangdang could raise up to $900m, but then drastically revised the estimate to $120m in the wake of North Korea’s shelling of a South Korean island, which raised regional tensions sharply.
李国庆不宜刊印的攻击暗示，当初银行家们为拿到生意，提出当当网可能募资至多9亿美元，但在朝鲜炮击韩国一个岛屿、导致地区紧张局势明显加剧后，又将该公司的估值大幅下调至1.20亿美元。
Dangdang raised $272m in the December 7 IPO, and the share price has since risen 112 per cent.
当当网在12月7日的IPO中募资2.72亿美元，自那以来股价已大涨112%。
Mr Li’s earliest posts on the Sina Corp micro- blogging service did not mention Morgan Stanley or Credit Suisse, the two IPO underwriters, by name. But two other microblog users, writing under the names “Morgan Stanley woman A” and “Morgan Stanley woman B,” quickly countered with attacks on Mr Li, alleging he lacked management skills and an understanding of finance.
李国庆最初在新浪(Sina)微博上发表的帖子并未点出摩根士丹利和瑞信(Credit Suisse)这两家IPO承销商的名字。但是，两位分别署名“大摩女A”和“大摩女B”的微博用户很快对李国庆发起反击，声称他缺乏管理技能，不懂财务。
The mudslinging has continued unabated. In the process, Mr Li berated the alleged bankers as “foreigners’ slaves”. They in turn alleged he did not have the guts to list in China because his company was too financially unsound.
双方就这样你来我往，相互揭短。在此过程中，李国庆痛骂两名自称的银行家为“洋人的奴才”，那两人则声称李国庆不敢在中国上市，因为他的公司财务太不稳健。
While some internet users seem to have followed the battle mainly for its entertainment value, others sided with Mr Li and sharply criticised global investment banks. One commentator said that if Dangdang’s finances were really unsound, the bankers should be investigated.
尽管一些网民追踪这场对骂主要是为了消遣，但也有一些人站在李国庆的一边，对全球投行提出严厉批评。一名评论人士表示，如果当当网的财务确实不稳健，这些银行家应当受到调查。
Morgan Stanley said on Monday that after a preliminary investigation it believed the colourfully worded posts attacking Mr Li were not written by employees of the firm.
摩根士丹利周一表示，经过初步调查，该行相信，那些攻击李国庆的绘声绘色的帖子并非出自该行雇员之手。
“These comments are offensive, highly unprofessional and do not reflect industry practices. We condemn such behaviour that can risk damaging a company’s brand and reputation,” it said.
“这些评论是无礼的、高度不专业的，而且不反映行业实践。我们谴责这些可能损害一家公司品牌和声誉的行为，”该行表示。
Dangdang cautiously distanced itself from Mr Li’s behaviour, calling his lyrics “his personal literary hobby”. It said the use of coarse language was wrong but added: “The lyrics reflect some negative phenomena that do exist in a certain industry. The lyrics were originally intended to serve as a warning to entrepreneurs who will seek US listings in the future”.
当当网谨慎地将公司与李国庆的行为拉开了距离，称他的歌词为“个人文学爱好”。该公司表示，使用粗鲁用词是不对的，但补充称：“歌词确有映射某个行业中存在的不良现象，属于仁者见仁；歌词的初衷是自揭伤疤，从而对后来的创业者及即将赴美的上市公司进行警示。”
Later on Monday, Mr Li tried to calm the dispute, apologising to Dangdang’s board and saying Morgan Stanley’s statement seemed acceptable to him.
周一晚些时候，李国庆试图平息这场纠纷，他向当当网董事会作了检讨，表示在他看来，摩根士丹利的声明似乎是可以接受的。
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