Ping An Insurance, China’s second-largest life assurer by number of policyholders, has become the latest Asian investor to gain a foothold in the City of London property market, buying the Lloyd’s Building in a £260m deal.

按保险客户人数计算是中国第二大寿险公司的平安保险(Ping An Insurance)已成为最新一个在伦敦金融城房地产市场取得落脚点的亚洲投资者，以一笔2.60亿英镑的交易买下劳合社大楼(Lloyd’s Building)。

The insurer – the first from China to buy in the London market – acquired the distinctive “inside-out” building from Commerzbank, the German lender.

这家保险商从德国商业银行(Commerzbank)收购这栋“内里外翻”、独具特色的建筑物，并由此成为在伦敦市场买楼的首家中国保险公司。

The Richard Rogers-designed building, which is home to the world’s largest insurance market, was bought on a net yield of 6.1 per cent – slightly above average for the City. Jon Crossfield, director at Savills, one of the estate agencies overseeing the sale, said it was a “high-profile and confident entry into the market”.

由理查德•罗杰斯(Richard Rogers)设计的这栋大楼，是全球最大保险市场的总部，其买价意味着6.1%的净收益率，略高于伦敦金融城的平均值。经手这笔售楼交易的房地产代理商——第一太平戴维斯(Savills)的主管乔恩•克罗斯菲尔德(Jon Crossfield)表示，这是“高姿态和自信的进入市场之举”。

Mr Crossfield added that the deal further illustrated the dominance of overseas investors in London.

克罗斯菲尔德补充称，这笔交易进一步展示出海外投资者在伦敦市场的主导地位。

Asian investors have led the charge of foreign money coming into the City office market in the past 18 months.

过去18个月期间，亚洲投资者引领着涌入伦敦金融城写字楼市场的外资洪流。

Asian companies and government funds – which deployed a meagre £135m in 2009, 3.3 per cent of the total investment market – last year spent £1.25bn in the Square Mile.

亚洲企业和政府基金在2009年仅投入区区1.35亿英镑，占整个投资市场的3.3%，但去年在1平方英里的伦敦金融城支出12.5亿英镑。

In the first three months of this year, they stood behind half of all spending in the City commercial property market with £595m, according to data from Jones Lang LaSalle, a property consultancy.

房地产咨询公司仲量联行(Lang LaSalle)的数据显示，今年前三个月，亚洲买家占了伦敦金融城商业房地产市场全部支出的半壁江山，投入5.95亿英镑。

China has been slower than its neighbours to make significant investments.

在做出重大投资方面，中国的脚步迄今落后于亚洲邻国。

The most notable transaction before yesterday’s deal was the £250m acquisition last year of Deutsche Bank’s London headquarters by the China Investment Corp, the country’s £410bn sovereign wealth fund.

在昨日达成的交易之前，最值得一提的交易是中国4100亿英镑的主权财富基金——中国投资公司(China Investment Corp, CIC)去年以2.50亿英镑收购德意志银行(Deutsche Bank)的伦敦总部大楼。

The demand for property in central London, which has also been felt in the West End retail district, has fuelled a development boom that is at odds with the ailing construction market elsewhere in the country.

对伦敦市中心房地产的需求（伦敦西区的零售区也感受到这种需求），助燃了一场开发热，与英国其它地方建筑市场不振的局面形成对比。

The gap between London and elsewhere was underlined by recent figures from the Heath and Safety Executive showing that, in spite of being home to only one in eight people in the UK, London has more active cranes than the rest of the country combined.

英国健康与安全执行局(Health and Safety Executive)最近发布的数据突显伦敦和英国其它地方之间的鸿沟，这些数据显示，尽管英国每8个人中只有1个人住在伦敦，但目前在伦敦投入施工的起重机超过英国其它地方之和。

The deal to buy the Lloyd’s Building, renowned for having the elevators and metal pipework of its cooling, heating and water services on the outside of the structure, also follows a recent trend of global insurance companies investing in London property.

收购劳合社大楼的交易也符合近年全球保险公司投资伦敦房地产的趋势。这栋大楼以电梯和冷却、取暖和给排水所用的金属管道安排在建筑结构外闻名。

WR Berkley, a US insurer, last year announced plans to develop a skyscraper, dubbed the “Scalpel”, just metres away from the Lloyd’s Building.

美国保险公司WR Berkley去年宣布相关计划，拟在紧邻劳合社大楼的地方开发一栋摩天大楼，这栋楼已得到“手术刀”的外号。

Insurers including Aon and Amlin have also recently taken up new office leases in the City Of London in a sign that the industry is willing to take up some of the space vacated by the shrinking banking sector.

怡安保险(Aon)和阿姆林保险(Amlin)等保险商最近也在伦敦金融城签下写字楼租约，这个迹象表明，保险业愿意占据因银行业收缩而空出的一部分写字楼空间。

Commerzbank purchased the Lloyd’s Building in 2005 for £231m, with the lease on the property set to run to 2031.

德国商业银行在2005年以2.31亿英镑购得劳合社大楼，该楼的租约持续至2031年。