IN BRIEF (Page 24)

Russia's O1, Vanke in stake sale talks

O1 Properties, one of Russia's largest commercial property owners, is in talks with Chinese developer Vanke Group about a potential stake sale, a source close to the talks told Reuters on Sept 26. Vanke, China's second-largest property developer by sales, has been diversifying into commercial businesses and businesses such as rental housing amid tough competition in China's residential sector. A source close to the talks said O1 Properties, controlled by businessman Boris Mints and his family, is talking with Vanke about a stake worth up to 51 percent in the Russian company. An O1 spokeswoman said there were no specific deals at the moment.

Abu Dhabi to sell exec-jet business

An Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund plans to sell the executive-jet business of Italy's Piaggio Aerospace to a State-backed Chinese consortium in a deal that is now under scrutiny by Rome, a source familiar with the matter said. The deal comes at a sensitive time for Chinese investments in the European Union, with the head of the European Commission recently proposing to limit state-backed foreign takeovers in high-tech manufacturing, among other industries. An Italian defense company such as Piaggio Aerospace must notify the government of any big asset sale, even if it does not involve a defense asset.

Ant Financial creating a joint venture

Ant Financial is forming a joint venture with tycoon Li Ka-shing's CK Hutchison Holdings to sign up more local users. The two companies are poised to set up a 50-50 joint venture to offer a consumer-oriented digital wallet under the AlipayHK brand. The deal is expected to be completed later this year, subject to obtaining regulators' approval. Neither company has disclosed the amount of its contribution to the joint venture. But market experts speculate that the parties are not disclosing the figures due to the negligible amount compared with the companies' massive portfolios. Ant Financial, the financial services arm of Chinese mainland e-commerce titan Alibaba Group Holding and operator of the world's largest online payment app Alipay, entered the Hong Kong market with AlipayHK mobile wallet in May. The e-payment app attracted more than 100,000 active users in the two weeks since its launch, and is now accepted at more than 4,000 leading retail brand outlets in the city.

Alipay, Norway forge tourism link

China's leading mobile and online payment service Alipay and Norway's tourism promotion agency on Sept 21 announced a mutual promotion partnership to provide better services to Chinese tourists in the Nordic country. The partnership agreement was reached by Alipay and the Scandinavian Tourist Board, a joint initiative by Denmark and Norway for promoting tourism in China, the two sides said in a joint statement. Alipay is China's leading third-party online payment solution. According to the agreement, Alipay will promote Norway as a Chinese-friendly travel destination and a mobile payment oriented country via Alipay's mobile application and external communication channels in China and in Europe. In cooperation with Alipay's European partners APay Nordic and 2paynow, STB will promote Alipay services in Norway by recommending and encouraging local merchants to consider and accept Alipay's mobile payment solution as well as Alipay's marketing platform. Alipay officially launched its operations in Norway on Sept 4 to boost Chinese customers' shopping experience in the country.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 09/29/2017 page24)