Tag Archives: Sunshine Insurance

China News Digest: October 22-24, 2016

The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on October 22-24. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • Huawei Keeps Top Spot in China Smartphone Market in Q3 – Trendforce (Chinese article)
  • Walmart (NYSE: WMT) Invests in Logistics and O2O Grocery Platform New Dada (Businesswire)
  • China Telecom (HKEx: 728) Hebei Subsidiary Cancels All Roaming Fees (Chinese article)
  • Yili (Shanghai: 600887) to Raise 9 Bln Yuan, Sunshine Insurance to Hold 4.56 Pct (Chinese article)
  • China Resources Pharma Said to Raise $1.8 Bln From IPO (English article)
  • Latest calendar for Q2 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)

TRAVEL: HNA Checks Into Red Lion Hotels, Buyout Coming?

Bottom line: HNA’s purchase of a stake in a small US hotel chain could presage a larger buyout bid for the company in partnership with a Chinese operator looking to expand abroad.

HNA checks in to Red Lion

We’ll take a break today from all the recent mega-deals involving Chinese firms, and focus our attention on a much smaller hotel purchase by private equity high flyer HNA Group. Frankly speaking, I find this new investment in US hotelier Red Lion Hotels (NYSE: RLH) a bit puzzling, as the actual size of the deal is very small and hardly worthwhile for a leading Chinese private equity investor like HNA. But that said, global real estate and hotels in particular have emerged as a hot commodity for big Chinese investors over the last year, meaning this particular deal could presage a larger purchase in the sector by HNA as it tests out the market. Read Full Post…

LEISURE: Anbang Closes Waldorf Buy, Heats Up Real Estate

Bottom line: Washington’s approval of the purchase of the Waldorf Astoria hotel by a Chinese insurer indicates a wave of similar real estate buying by Chinese investors will accelerate, resulting in a bubble likely to burst over the next decade.

Anbang closes Waldorf buy

Washington has just sent an important signal that it won’t seek to halt the growing tide of Chinese investment in US real estate, with word that Anbang Insurance has just closed its purchase of New York’s storied Waldorf Astoria hotel for nearly $2 billion. I was quite surprised at how quickly this deal closed, since the amount of money is huge and the deal itself also sparked some controversy over potential national security issues. More precisely, it took just over 4 months to close the purchase of one of the world’s most famous hotels at a record-setting price. Read Full Post…

News Digest: February 10, 2015

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on February 10. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) Pays $975 Mln, Resolves China Antitrust Dispute (English article)
  • Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) Places China Smartphone Bet With $590 Mln Meizu Deal (English article)
  • Hisense (Shanghai: 600060), Tencent (HK: 700) In TV Game Platform Tie-Up (Chinese article)
  • Starwood to Sell NYC’s Baccarat Hotel To Chinese Insurer Sunshine (English article)
  • Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) Reports Q4 And Fiscal Year 2014 Unaudited Results (PRNewswire)

FINANCE: Fosun Finds Challenger In Club Med Bid

Bottom line: Fosun should drop out of the bidding war for Club Med to avoid overpaying for the resort operator, despite big potential from a possible Asia expansion.

Fosun in bidding war for Club Med

Chinese investors aren’t the only companies with big money to spend on global M&A for undervalued western assets. That’s the lesson that high-flying private equity firm Fosun International (HKEx: 656) is quickly learning, as it gets sucked into a bidding war for French holiday resort operator Club Med (Paris: CU). This particular bidding war is one of the first I’ve seen for a major western asset involving Chinese bidders, and could presage more competition from local western investors who want to take advantage of the many assets now now being sold at bargain prices. Read Full Post…

LEISURE – China’s Hotel Appetite Grows With Starwood Sale

Bottom line: The record-breaking purchase of an Australian trophy hotel by a China buyer is part of a growing Chinese foreign real estate buying binge, which could ultimately produce a global bubble.

Chinese insurer buys Sydney Sheraton

China’s nascent but rapidly growing appetite for foreign hotels continues to grow, with word that another previously unknown Chinese insurer has snapped up a trophy property in Australia for a record price. In this case it’s China’s Sunshine Insurance Group that’s buying a major Sheraton property in Sydney from global giant Starwood Hotels (NYSE: HOT) for an inflated price of A$463 million, or about $400 million. This sale is the third of a major western hotel asset to a Chinese buyer in just the last 2 months, and looks a lot like similar waves from the past 30 years that saw Asian buyers purchase trophy western real estate at inflated prices. Read Full Post…