DANONE FILES US LAWSUIT AGAINST WAHAHA
By Geoff Dyer in Shanghai
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
达能在美国起诉娃哈哈

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.
达能(Danone)针对中国合资伙伴娃哈哈(Wahaha)的行动已经升级。该公司已经在美国提起诉讼，起诉娃哈哈的一个子公司及两名相关人士。

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.
这家法国食品集团昨日表示，它已向洛杉矶一家法庭提起诉讼，指控娃哈哈在英属维京群岛注册的一家公司非法销售属于合资企业的饮料。

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.
这次起诉是两家公司之间长达两个月的激烈争执的最新进展，而这一争执有可能导致双方的合资企业解散。这家合资企业可谓中国境内商业上最为成功的合资公司之一，为达能贡献了大约5%到6%的运营利润，去年销售额为10亿欧元（合13.5亿美元）。

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.
达能控告娃哈哈另外创建销售公司，推广销售两家集团合资企业协议中涵盖的饮料。

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辞强硬的声明进行了回应，指责达能采取“荒谬可笑”的策略，想通过“全球施压”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：“其不了解宗总（即娃哈哈创建人宗庆后）是越压越硬，一旦真相告白于天下，达能告别中国为期亦不远了，告别资本市场亦不远了。”

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. 达能今年4月开始在中国针对娃哈哈采取法律行动。这家法国集团表示，上周，它已向瑞典一个机构提交了仲裁申请，这个机构处理过大量涉及在华外企的商业争端。

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，中国海关上周查封了11.8万升依云(Evian)矿泉水。依云是达能的一个品牌。有关官员称，这些矿泉水中的菌落含量超标。

Danone said its water met international health standards and that it did not think the decision was linked to the dispute with Wahaha.
达能表示，其矿泉水符合国际健康标准，不过它并不认为上述结果与娃哈哈争端有关。

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
在加州诉讼案中，达能对英属维京群岛注册的恒枫贸易有限公司提出了起诉。达能称，这家公司控制着杭州娃哈哈食品饮料营销有限公司(Hangzhou Wahaha Food and Beverage Sales)，而后者正是非法销售合资企业产品的那家贸易公司。