After Anglo-Australian miner BHP Billiton made an eventually unsuccessful US$38.6 billion offer for agriculture-focused Potash Corp., deal makers began adding food options to their menus.

　　澳洲礦業公司必和必拓（BHP Billiton）提出以386億美元收購主營農業的加拿大鉀肥公司Potash Corp.遭到失敗后，交易撮合者就開始關注農業企業。

　　In Asia, the result has been a rich diet of food company deals, with more expected─and raising a question about whether investors might eventually end up with indigestion.

　　在亞洲，這導致的結果就是涉及農業企業的交易數量非常多，超出了預期。這也提出了一個問題，即投資者最終能否消化數量眾多的交易。

　　Higher prices in both raw and processed soft commodities─caused by growing Asian demand, erratic weather, and a global push toward biofuels─has led to a spate of food-focused merger deals and initial public offerings. Food quality concerns in China and fears of radioactive exposure in products in Japan amid the nation's ongoing nuclear crisis have added to the trend.

　　未加工和已經加工的軟商品的價格都在走高。這導致圍繞食品的并購交易和首次公開募股接連發生。不斷增長的亞洲需求、氣候反常以及全球爭奪生物燃料都推高了軟商品的價格。而中國的食品質量問題，以及擔心日本還在持續的核危機會令該國食品受到輻射污染都助推了這一趨勢。

　　"There is a very active deal environment in the global agribusiness and the commodity price environment is a key driver," said Russ Colaco, an executive director in Morgan Stanley's consumer investment banking team in New York. He added, " Higher prices are a catalyst for mergers to create greater scale and capital raising to strengthen balance sheets."

　　摩根士丹利駐紐約消費品業務投行團隊的執行董事柯拉科（Russ Colaco）說，全球農業企業的交易非?；钴S，大宗商品價格上漲是主要的推手?？吕朴终f，大宗商品價格走高促使各方通過并購做大規模，通過募集資金充實資產。

　　As a result, Asian agriculture-focused companies tend to be valued better than their other counterparts, though they still trail the surge in underlying food products. Between March 2010 and March 2011, for instance, global food commodity prices─including cereal, vegetable oils, meat, seafood, sugar, bananas, and oranges─as measured by the IMF's Commodity Food Price Index rose 32%. In that time, the valuations of Asia-Pacific Agricultural business rose 19% and traded at 3.70 times book value from 3.12 times in March last year, according to data provider CapitalIQ. They currently trade at 3.84 times book value. Meanwhile, valuations of the MSCI Asia Pacific Index have fallen 4%.

　　因此，盡管并未趕上基礎農產品價格激增的行情，亞洲農業企業的估值還是比其它企業高。以2010年3月至2011年3月為例，按國際貨幣基金組織食品價格指數測算，全球主要食品類大宗商品的價格上漲了32%。這些食品包括谷物、植物油、肉類、海產品、糖、香蕉和柑橘。而據數據提供商CapitalIQ透露，同期亞太地區農業企業的估值上升了19%，市凈率為3.70倍，高于去年3月3.12倍的水平。目前這些企業的估值為3.84倍（市凈率）。同期MSCI亞太指數成分股公司的平均估值下降了4%。

　　Nine Asian agriculture companies that listed in the last 12 months trade at total enterprise value of 6.01 times to sales, compared with the 4.48 times the 235 agribusinesses that are already listed in Asia, according to CapitalIQ. Enterprise value combined market capitalization with net debt.

　　據CapitalIQ介紹，過去12個月亞洲地區新上市的九個農業企業其總企業價值/銷售收入的倍數為6.01倍，高于此前已經上市的235家農業企業4.48倍的估值水平。企業價值等于總市值加上凈負債。

　　"Overall, the nine Asian agricompanies that were listed in the last 12 months are valued higher than the total basket, suggesting better investor sentiment for recent IPOs," said Chris Rynning, chief executive officer of Beijing-based Origo Partners. In early March the private-equity firm bought a 21% stake for US$13 milion in privately owned rice producer China Rice, in the London-listed private equity firm's first foray outside clean-technology and natural resources in China.

　　總部位于北京的歐瑞集團（Origo Partners）的首席執行長林寧（Chris Rynning）說，總體上講，過去12個月內上市的這九家亞洲農業企業的估值高于市場整體水平，這意味著投資者看好近期要公開上市募集資金的新股。3月初，作為私募基金的歐瑞集團以1,300萬美元的價格收購了私人控股的大米廠商China Rice21%的股權，這是在倫敦上市的歐瑞集團首次涉足天然氣和清潔技術之外的領域。

　　"The opportunity in agricommodities is that it's a high-growth sector, and yet competition is not so high and it's a less beaten investment path in China than internet companies, for instance, which trade on crazy valuations."

　　投資農產品大宗商品的機遇在于，這是一個高增長的行業，且競爭不是非常激烈。在中國市場，相比估值過高的互聯網企業，投資農產品的人還不是非常多。