Property
Yuhu Group buys Dalian Wanda's Australian assets for $1.13 billion
AFR, 29 Jan. 2018
Sydney developer Yuhu Group has confirmed it acquired Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda's Sydney and Gold Coast residential and hotel mixed-used projects for $1.13 billion, ending Wanda's presence in Australian real estate after just three years.
http://www.afr.com/real-estate/yuhu-group-buys-dalian-wandas-australian-assets-for-113-billion-20180129-h0q8n8
Political donor Huang Xiangmo's son buys Circular Quay landmark Gold Fields House
ABC Online, 30 Jan. 2018
The Sydney-based son of Chinese political donor Huang Xiangmo has bought two major Australian properties worth $1.13 billion from one of China's largest property developers.
Chinese firm's 'lucky' Australian property deal turns sour
SMH, 2 Feb. 2018
A Chinese developer, who purchased the Melbourne offices of Computershare 18 months ago for the “lucky” sum of $88,888,888, has sold the building at a loss in a rising property market.
Yuhu's Huang Xiangmo sees better returns in tourism
AFR, 2 Feb. 2018
The new owner of two of Australia's most luxurious waterfront property assets, Yuhu Group, has revealed its plans to turn them into tourism icons in order to boost Australia's economy.
http://www.afr.com/real-estate/yuhus-huang-xiangmo-sees-better-returns-in-tourism-20180201-h0scle
Currency & Financial
Chinese to increase investment in Australian healthcare sector
The Australian, 29 Jan. 2018
Chinese investors are expected step up their investment in the Australian healthcare sector, according to a study released today by KPMG and the University of Sydney's Business School.
Wanda hotels unit surges 51% on $890m Australia property deal
Financial Times, 30 Jan. 2018
Shares in Wanda Hotel Development surged as much as 51 per cent on Tuesday following a $5.4bn deal between its parent and a consortium including Tencent as well as a separate announcement that it had sealed a $890m deal for its properties in Australia.
https://www.ft.com/content/f7f6b786-0561-11e8-9650-9c0ad2d7c5b5
Westpac Group set to review foreign and local property buyers
AFR, 30 Jan. 2018
Westpac Group, the nation's second largest mortgage provider, will next Monday announce new borrowing terms and conditions for local and foreign residential property buyers on partner visas.
http://www.afr.com/business/banking-and-finance/westpac-group-set-to-turn-screws-again-on-foreign-and-local-property-buyers-20180129-h0qaqe
Australia to tighten foreign investment rules amid China concerns
Financial Times, 1 Feb. 2018
Australia is to tighten rules on foreign investment in electricity infrastructure and agricultural land, amid concerns about growing Chinese influence in business, politics and society.
https://www.ft.com/content/308ca8d6-06f6-11e8-9650-9c0ad2d7c5b5
Agriculture
MLA teams with Alibaba for `True Aussie' beef, lamb blitz in China
North Queensland Register, 29 Jan. 2018
Suppliers of Australian beef and lamb promoted selected products under the “True Aussie Beef and Lamb” brand in China at the weekend, as Alibaba Group’s Tmall Fresh and Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) partnered to give beef and lamb producers a new channel to reach Chinese shoppers.
'Arrogant' Australia risks scaring-off foreign investors wanting farmland as new reforms favour local bidders
ABC Online, 3 Feb. 2018
Rural real estate agents are criticising a decision by the Federal Government to force them to try selling properties to Australians before offering them to overseas investors.
Dairy farming in a volanic valley and exporting to China: Heather reports from Australia
Agriland, 4 Feb. 2018
Just two months ago Co. Down dairy farmer Heather Martin found out she would take part in the trip of a lifetime touring Australia’s top dairy herds.
Resources
The minister the money and the mine. How a rotten deal was hatched
SMH, 5 Feb. 2018
As waiters took orders for toasties and coffee at the Little Teapot Café in the sleepy coastal hamlet of Davistown, NSW, four men were discussing a deal as big as it was potentially rotten.
Retail & Tourism
Chinese consumers enjoy cross-border shopping
China Plus, 18 Jan. 2018
Cross-border shopping by Chinese consumers boomed in 2017, with maternity and baby products topping choices, reported Nielsen, a leading global information and measurement company.
http://chinaplus.cri.cn/news/business/12/20180118/79610.html
Chinese men outspend women online, thanks to gaming and takeout food
South China Morning Post, 23 Jan. 2018
Hungry young men glued to online games have helped change a bedrock belief in Chinese society: that women spend more on shopping than men.
WeChat Pay now allows users to bind overseas credit cards
Technode, 24 Jan. 2018
Tencent’s WeChat Pay, one of China’s major mobile payment services, announced today that international credit cards are now allowed on the mobile payment platform. Expats living in China and residents of Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan—places where WeChat is ambitiously expanding its user base—can now bind and activate WeChat Pay accounts with credit card services provided by MasterCard, Visa, and JCB.
https://technode.com/2018/01/24/wechat-pay-now-allows-users-to-bind-overseas-credit-cards/
Chinese consumers increasingly embrace “green” products, claims JD.com
Fresh Fruit Portal, 25 Jan. 2018
Data from leading Chinese e-commerce retailer JD.com has revealed the country’s consumers are increasingly shifting their purchases to sustainable goods and are willing to pay the premium.
Education
Overseas students: WA faces shortfall after Labor’s cuts to migration incentives
The Australian, 31 Jan. 2018
The $30 billion international education industry has warned that Western Australia is losing large numbers of valuable overseas students to other states following last year’s decision by the incoming McGowan Labor government to slash migration incentives.
China Domestic
Why is it Popular? How a Frog Could Derail Xi Jinping’s Age of Ambition
China Skinny, 29 Jan. 2018
Right now millions of young Chinese are anxiously fidgeting with their phones hoping for a very specific notification. They have spent hours fretting and preparing their ‘pet’ frog for his next jaunt across Japan and are worried sick about him. ‘Why haven’t I received a postcard yet? Has he made any friends? When will he return to me?’
https://www.chinaskinny.com/blog/tabi-kaeru-xi-jinping-age-ambition/