Nestlé, the Swiss food group, is set to acquire Hsu Fu Chi, the Chinese sweets company, for S$2.1bn (US$1.7bn) in a deal that marks one of the largest foreign acquisitions in China and underscores the race for the country’s food sector.

瑞士食品集团雀巢(Nestlé)将以21亿新元（合17亿美元）收购中国糖果企业徐福记，这将是中国规模最大的外资并购交易之一，并突显出外资对中国食品行业的竞相投资。

The Swiss group plans to purchase 60 per cent of Singapore-listed Hsu Fu Chi, with the remaining 40 per cent to be owned by four Taiwanese brothers who founded the company. If the deal is approved by regulators and shareholders, the stock will be delisted, with Nestlé and the Hsu brothers operating the company as a joint venture.

雀巢计划收购在新加坡上市的徐福记60%的股权，剩下的40%股权将由徐福记的创建者台湾徐氏四兄弟持有。如果交易获得监管者和股东的批准，徐福记将退市，雀巢和徐氏兄弟将把该公司作为一家合资企业经营。

China’s food market is becoming a hot target for foreign investment, as rising incomes feed a growing appetite for packaged foods. China’s confectionery market alone is worth more than $9bn a year, according to Euromonitor.

随着不断增加的收入促使人们对包装食品的兴趣日益高涨，中国食品市场正成为外资的热门目标。根据Euromonitor的数据，单单中国糖果市场的价值就超过每年90亿美元。

Hsu Fu Chi, which had sales of $798m last year, makes sweets, cakes and a popular cereal bar called Sachima. All the company’s sales are in China.

徐福记去年的销售额为7.98亿美元，生产糖果、蛋糕以及颇受欢迎的糕点萨其玛。该公司全部销售都位于中国境内。

“There is more disposable income to go around in China today and people have less free time ...  that’s leading to growing demand for packaged foods like cakes and cookies and crackers,” said Ben Cavender, analyst at China Market Research, a Shanghai-based consultancy.

上海咨询公司中国市场研究集团(China Market Research Group)分析师本•凯文德(Ben Cavender)表示：“如今，中国人的可支配收入增加了，但自由时间减少了……这促使人们对蛋糕、饼干和薯片等包装食品的需求不断上升。”

He said anti-monopoly hurdles were unlikely to pose a major challenge to the deal, as Hsu Fu Chi holds just a 6-7 per cent market share in China’s confectionery market.

他表示，反垄断障碍不太可能对该交易构成重大挑战，因为徐福记仅占中国糖果市场6%至7%的市场份额。

Nestle’s announcement follows Diageo’s acquisition of a stake in Chinese liquor brand Shui Jing Fang, which was approved by China’s regulators in June, an encouraging sign for foreign investment in the food sector. “[This proposed partnership] combines Hsu Fu Chi’s strong brands, its large portfolio of products at affordable price points, its efficient operations and entrepreneurship with our proved innovation and renovation capabilities, supported by our R&D Centres in China,” said Paul Bulcke, Nestlé chief executive.

在雀巢发布收购声明之前，英国饮料集团帝亚吉欧(Diageo)购入中国白酒品牌水井坊的部分股权，该交易在今年6月得到中国监管机构的批准，对于中国食品行业的外国投资而言，这是一个令人鼓舞的迹象。雀巢首席执行官保罗•薄凯(Paul Bulcke)表示：“（这一拟议合作）将把徐福记强大的品牌、齐全而价位适中的产品组合、高效率的经营以及创业精神与我们久经验证的创新和翻新能力结合在一起，并得到我们在中国的研发中心的支持。”

Nestlé’s milk sales soared following the melamine milk powder scare that turned consumers away from Chinese milk brands.

在三聚氰胺奶粉恐慌让中国消费者远离中国奶粉品牌后，雀巢在华奶粉销售额飙升。

Nestlé sells a range of foods in China and reported sales of SFr2.8bn ($3.3bn) for the China region last year. Under the proposed deal, Nestlé will buy 43.5 per cent of the company from shareholders and then buy a 16.5 per cent stake in the company from the brothers who currently control a majority stake.

雀巢在中国销售的产品很多，去年中国地区的销售额为28亿瑞士法郎 (合33亿美元)。根据拟议交易，雀巢将从股东手中购入徐福记43.5%的股权，然后从目前控制徐福记多数股权的徐氏兄弟手中再购入16.5%的股权。