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The companies behind two of the hottest stock market debuts of 2014, Lending Club and the Alibaba Group, are teaming up — to help American companies buy parts from Chinese manufacturers.
跻身2014年最热门上市事件之列的两家公司——Lending Club和阿里巴巴集团——正在展开合作，以帮助美国企业从中国的生产商那里采购零部件。
The two announced on Tuesday that they would form a partnership to provide financing for manufacturers in the United States to buy products and supplies through the Chinese marketplace Alibaba.com. Through Lending Club, the giant of the online marketplace lending industry, those companies can line up from $5,000 to as much as $300,000 for each purchase order.
双方周二宣布将成立合作平台，为美国的生产商提供融资，帮助它们在中国的市场Alibaba.com上购买产品和进行补给。通过在线市场借贷行业的巨头Lending Club，各家企业可以为每笔订单筹集5000至30万美元（约合3.1万至190万元人民币）不等的资金。
It’s an unusual move meant in part to replace traditional business supply-chain borrowing, at least for the small- to medium-size businesses that look to Alibaba for a portion of their manufacturing. Rather than have to rely on banks or other traditional lenders who require collateral for their financing, these customers can instead use Lending Club’s systems to procure an unsecured loan with near-instant approval.
此举出人意料，一定程度上是为了取代传统的企业供应链借贷，至少对那些部分生产指望阿里巴巴的中小型企业来说如此。它们可以利用Lending Club的系统获得无担保贷款，并且几乎立即就能获批，而不用依赖银行或其他传统借贷机构。在提供融资时，传统机构一般要求对方进行抵押担保。
“This partnership is going to make a pretty big difference in terms of U.S. business’ ability to buy goods from China,” Renaud Laplanche, the chief executive of Lending Club, said in a telephone interview.
“这一合作关系，将让美国企业从中国采购商品的能力取得相当大的提升，”Lending Club的首席执行官雷诺·拉普朗什(Renaud Laplanche)在接受电话采访时表示。
And it is a unifying of two of the most talked-about online marketplaces of the moment. Alibaba is one of China’s biggest Internet companies, whose multiple platforms — including Alibaba.com, which is meant for wholesale purchases — draw millions of customers. And Lending Club helped define what once was known as peer-to-peer lending, in which potential investors can go online to be matched with hopeful borrowers.
这也是当下最为外界热议的两家在线平台的联手。阿里巴巴是中国最大的互联网企业之一，旗下拥有多个平台——包括主要面向批发生意的Alibaba.com——吸引了数以百万计的客户。Lending Club则参与建立了一度被称作“个人对个人”的借贷模式。在这种模式中，潜在投资者可以通过上网来寻找与自己匹配的潜在借款方。
The loans for the new venture, to be called “Alibaba.com e-Credit Line, Powered by Lending Club,” comes at lower interest rates than what others can provide. According to Mr. Laplanche, the new venture offers a monthly interest rate starting at 0.5 percent, about half of what a more traditional lender could provide.
名为“Alibaba.com e-Credit Line, Powered by Lending Club”的这座新平台提供的贷款利率低于其他机构。据拉普朗什介绍，该平台的月利率最低为0.5%，大约是传统借贷机构的一半。
But unlike more traditional manufacturing financing options, such as “factoring,” the loans aren’t backed by particular assets.
不过，与“保理”等较为传统的制造业融资选项不同，这些贷款不会有特定资产担保。
Alibaba had begun searching for a lending partner several months ago, eventually reaching out to both traditional banks and newer market-based lenders. After what amounted to a lengthy audition process, including trips to Alibaba’s offices in China, the Chinese e-commerce giant ultimately chose to go with Lending Club.
阿里巴巴几个月前开始寻找从事贷款业务的合作伙伴，对传统的银行和基于市场的新兴贷款机构都进行了接触。经过了相当于漫长面试的一个过程，包括几次走访阿里巴巴的中国办公室，Lending Club最终被选为与这家中国电商巨头联手的伙伴。
“First of all, they are also a platform business,” Michael Lee, Alibaba.com’s global marketing and business development director, said in a telephone interview, adding that customers had asked for an simple financing solution for some time. “They are also very transparent with their rate and the way they do business. And they got good feedback from their own users.”
“首先，他们也是一家平台型企业，”阿里巴巴的全球营销与业务开发总监迈克尔·李(Michael Lee)在接受电话采访时说。他还表示，一段时间以来，客户一直在寻求一个简单的融资解决方案。“他们的利率和业务模式也非常透明，从自己的用户那里得到了很好的反馈。”
For Alibaba, according to Mr. Lee, the hope is that customers will use such financing to make orders at least once a year. And if the system proves as easy to use as both sides hope, it could help convince more American businesses to order from Alibaba.com more often.
迈克尔·李表示，阿里巴巴的希望是，客户将至少每年一次利用这样的融资来进行采购。如果这个系统像双方希望的那样容易使用，就可以有助于说服更多的美国企业更频繁地通过阿里巴巴的网站下订单。
For Lending Club, the move is meant to help further a move into new kinds of lending. Though it began life by offering debt consolidation loans to help pay off credit cards, the company has pushed to enter new kinds of financing, including elective surgical procedures and small-business loans.
对于Lending Club来说，此举有助于公司进一步尝试新的贷款类型。尽管这家公司最初的业务是提供债务合并贷款来帮助人们偿还信用卡欠款，它如今已经开始涉猎新的融资种类，包括面向选择性手术和小企业的放贷。
Last month, the company formed a similar kind of partnership with Google, offering a way for businesses that resell the American technology giant’s services to gain low-cost financing.
上个月，Lending Club与谷歌(Google)也达成了类似的合作关系，为这家美国科技业巨头的服务销售商提供了一个获得低成本融资的途径。
“It’s showcasing Lending Club’s unique ability to provide financing for the new economy,” Mr. Laplanche said.
“这证明了Lending Club为新经济提供融资的无可匹敌的能力，”拉普朗什说。
