Li Ka-shing’s Cheung Kong is competing with mainland rivals for European parking assets
At the top of the page today, some of Asia’s wealthiest investors are bidding for the rights to run a fleet of European parking lots. Also in the news, China’s much discussed but seldom encountered property tax has just moved another step or two beyond the horizon as the country prepares for an upcoming leadership changeover, while mainland insurers may again be turned loose on the global investment scene. Read on for all these stories and more.
Li Ka-shing and Guo Guangchang Battle for European Parking Space
Cheung Kong Infrastructure and Fosun International are among several Asian groups that have submitted bids for Q-Park, one of Europe’s largest parking lot operators, in a deal that could fetch more than $2.4bn.
China Oceanwide, a Beijing-based conglomerate owned by a billionaire banking magnate, and Shougang Group, a state-owned Chinese steel company, also joined the first round of bidding on the Netherlands-based parking group, two people familiar with the matter said. Read more>>
China Property Tax Kicked Down the Road Again
There is no plan to submit a property tax bill to lawmakers for deliberation this year, a spokesperson for the annual session of China’s top legislature said Saturday.
“There have been a lot of discussions on this issue, as such a bill involves a wide range of interests,” Fu Ying, spokeswoman for the fifth session of the 12th National People’s Congress (NPC), said at a press conference. China’s current housing tax mechanism mainly taxes development and sales of a property, without taxing home ownership or the market value of homes. Read more>>
China May Loosen Reins on Insurers’ Outbound Deals
China’s insurance regulator is considering an industry shake-up that could see the biggest and most solvent firms resuming an overseas expansion, while smaller, riskier insurers would come under tighter scrutiny.
The plan being discussed would see the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) move from a one-size-fits-all regulatory framework to a regime calibrated to insurers’ assets, solvency ratios and risk tolerance, four people with knowledge of the talks told Reuters. Read more>>
South Korea’s Lotte Closes 10 China Shops Amid Missile Fracas
South Korea’s Lotte Group on Monday (March 6) said more than 10 of its Chinese retail stores have been closed after inspections by authorities, as Seoul protests discrimination against the conglomerate in China after it provided land for a US missile defence system.
The closures include two stores around the city of Dandong on the North Korean border, said a spokesman for Lotte Mart. The unit had 115 stores in China as of January, contributing to group sales there of over three trillion won (S$3.7 billion) in 2015. Read more>>
Anbang Wins Approval for Canadian Senior Living Acquisition
B.C.’s Health Ministry has granted the licences needed for the province’s largest provider of seniors care to be acquired by China’s Anbang Insurance Group, in a deal believed to be worth more than $1 billion.
Ottawa approved the transaction for Anbang to buy Vancouver-based Retirement Concepts in late February. Retirement Concepts runs 24 care homes in B.C., Alberta and Quebec, including seven on Vancouver Island. Read more>>
Tune in again tomorrow for more news, and be sure to follow @Mingtiandi on Twitter for headlines as they happen.
Leave a Reply