A short seller firm has accused Chinese video-streaming platform Iqiyi of reporting inflated revenue figures and user numbers in 2019, following just days after US-listed Luckin Coffee’s explosive revenue fraud disclosure last Thursday.
一家做空公司控告中国的视频流媒体平台爱奇艺在2019年报告虚增收入和用户数量。而不久前的上周四,在美国上市的瑞幸咖啡刚被披露收入欺诈,成为爆炸性新闻。

The Beijing-based company often referred to as the “Netflix of China” is another high-profile target for short sellers following beverage chain Luckin Coffee’s spectacular downfall, as US-listed Chinese companies find themselves under increasing scrutiny.
这家总部位于北京的公司经常被称为“中国的网飞”,继饮品连锁品牌瑞幸咖啡轰然倒台之后,它成了做空公司又一高调目标。在美国上市的中国公司都发现受到的监视越来越多。

Muddy Waters Research tweeted a link to a Wolfpack Research report on Tuesday, alleging that Iqiyi had inflated its 2019 revenue by 27% to 44% and overstated user numbers by 42% to 60%.
浑水调研公司在推特上发了周二的一份Wolfpack Research报告的链接,指控爱奇艺2019年的收益报告虚增了27%,变成了44%,用户增长率虚增了42%,变成了60%。

The Wolfpack report claimed Iqiyi had also blown up its expenses, the prices it pays for content, other assets, and acquisitions “in order to burn off fake cash to hide the fraud from its auditor and investors.”
这份Wolfpack报告声称爱奇艺也虚报了开支、为其内容支付的费用、其他资产,以及购置的产业,“目的是要抵消虚增的收入,从而对审计师和投资者隐瞒欺诈行为。”

The research, which Muddy Waters assisted with, included a survey of 1,563 people in Iqiyi’s target demographic which found that VIP users of the video streaming site often scored free memberships through package deals with its partners, including Xiaomi TV and .
浑水调研公司辅助进行的这项研究中对爱奇艺目标人群中的1,563人进行了调查,发现这个视频流媒体网站的VIP用户经常能在其合作伙伴,包括小米TV和京东商城的套餐服务中获得免费会员。

The company records the membership revenue in full and lists its partner’s share as expenses, inflating both revenue and expenditures, according to the report.
报告中说,该公司将会员费用全部记入收益中,并将分给其合作伙伴的金额列为支出,这样就虚增了收益和支出。

Iqiyi said in a statement Wednesday that a report by short seller Wolfpack Research “contains numerous errors, unsubstantiated statements and misleading conclusions and interpretations.”
爱奇艺周三在声明中说做空公司Wolfpack Research的报告“错误频出,包含未经证实的说法、误导性的结论和解释。”

Nasdaq-listed Iqiyi did not provide details backing its claims about the report, but said that it has always been committed to maintaining “high standards of corporate governance and internal control” in compliance with US securities regulations.
在纳斯达克上市的爱奇艺并未提供细节来支持其对报告的评论,但该公司称一直坚持符合美国证券法规的“高标准的公司监管和内部控制”。

 

翻译:菲菲