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Japan’s Kobe Steel said a data falsification scandal that has affected more than 200 customers and wiped 40 per cent off the company’s market value since Monday extended into its core steel business.
日本神户制钢(Kobe Steel)表示，数据伪造丑闻蔓延至其核心的钢铁业务。这桩丑闻影响到逾200家客户，并导致该公司市值自本周一以来蒸发40%。
Friday’s admission by the embattled Japanese group, which experts said could expand the legal and financial implications of the crisis, comes a day after Hiroya Kawasaki, chief executive, publicly played down suggestions that it had sold steel products with false inspection certificates.
这家陷入困境的日本企业周五作出上述承认的一天前，其社长川崎博也(Hiroya Kawasaki)曾在公开场合淡化有关该公司销售过带虚假检验证书的钢铁产品的说法。专家表示，该公司的上述承认可能会加大此次危机的法律和财务影响。
Earlier this week, analysts warned investors that because Kobe’s internal investigation would look back 10 years, the scope of the problem was likely to extend into other products.
本周早些时候，分析师警告投资者称，因神户制钢的内部调查将回溯到10年前，这个问题很可能会波及到其他产品。
Mr Kawasaki, addressing revelations that Kobe had sold across a swath of industrial sectors some 19,300 tonnes of aluminium and copper products that did not conform with their stated specifications, said on Thursday that trust in his company had “fallen to zero”.
周四，川崎在就有关神户制钢向多个工业领域销售了约1.93万吨不符其申明规格的铝铜产品的披露发表讲话时表示，外界对其公司的信任已“降至零”。
A day later — amid concerns that Kobe may face punishing costs for replacing falsely certified materials — it emerged that the company’s internal investigations into historic falsification of product certificates were being conducted across all divisions.
一天后，有消息称，神户制钢对过往伪造产品证书的内部调查涉及所有部门。外界担心，该公司可能要下血本来更换带虚假证书的材料。
The company said it had “not yet come to the stage” of firing anyone over the scandal but that investigations were focused on “some tens of personnel” across the company. Despite the damage to Kobe’s share price, no customer has yet linked purchases of falsely certified products with any safety issues.
神户制钢表示，公司“尚未到”就此次丑闻开除什么人的阶段，但调查聚焦在全公司的“数十名人员”身上。尽管该公司股价受创，但目前还没有客户将买了带虚假证书的产品与任何安全问题联系起来。
Kobe, whose customers include global carmakers, white goods producers, high-tech manufacturers and major aircraft builders, said it had found irregularities in product certificates relating to steel wire — a material used, among many other functions, to strengthen tyres. Kobe said it had contacted customers that had purchased the steel wire and been told that no quality or safety problems had arisen.
神户制钢的客户包括全球汽车制造商、白色家电制造商、高科技制造商和大型飞机建造商。该公司表示，已发现与钢丝有关的产品证书有不正常之处。钢丝具有很多用途，其中之一是增强轮胎的强度。神户制钢表示，该公司已联系购买过钢丝的客户，并被告知没有出现任何质量或安全问题。
The company will hold an emergency press conference later on Friday to provide further details to a market that had previously viewed Kobe as a prime example of Japanese precision material makers’ technical superiority over international competitors. Kobe has substantial global market share in a selection of steel wire products.
该公司将于周五晚些时候召开紧急记者招待会，以向市场提供进一步细节。市场过去一直把神户制钢视为日本精密材料制造商技术比国际竞争对手卓越的最佳例证。该公司在全球一系列钢丝产品领域占据大量市场份额。
Mio Kato, an analyst at Smartkarma, said further details on the actions surrounding the sale of steel wire would be critical as the product was routinely used in parts of automobiles instrumental in preventing accidents.
Smartkarma分析师Mio Kato表示，围绕钢丝销售所采取的行动的进一步细节将至关重要，这种产品常用于有助于防止事故的汽车零部件。
“If these parts are compromised from a safety perspective, recalls will be mandatory and the costs significant. Damage to the company’s business prospects with its auto customers will also be severe,” he said.
他表示：“如果这些零部件的安全性打了折扣，那么召回将是必须的，成本将是高昂的。该公司与其汽车客户的生意往来前景也将严重受损。”
