China is unloading its biggest ever foreign acquisition | Fortune

“ChemChina, a state-owned enterprise, has filed for an IPO of Syngenta, the world’s largest producer of agricultural chemicals, which it bought for $43 billion in 2017 (a deal that Fortune chronicled in detail). It remains China’s biggest foreign acquisition. Now the IPO could be one of China’s biggest.”

Read the full article @ Fortune (paywall):

More than half of Chinese acquisitions in Switzerland have state fingerprint | Swissinfo.ch

“The Chinese government has a stake in 53% of Swiss companies acquired by Chinese firms since 2010, according to a think tank study.”

Read the full article @ Swissinfo.ch:

Asian Group Takes Over Landmark Building at Zurich’s Paradeplatz | finews.asia

“Savoy Baur en Ville, one of Zurich’s top hotels, will close its doors by the end of 2022, only to reopen two-and-a-half years later under a new name and new management. The renovation is the fourth in the long history of this landmark building at Paradeplatz.

The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group will take over the management of Savoy Hotel Baur en Ville, the luxury hotel at Paradeplatz in Zurich. Even after the handover of operational responsibility, the ownership will remain the same though: Credit Suisse (CS) will retain its majority stake in the renowned hotel, according to a statement released on Monday.”

Read the full article @ finews.asia:

Dufry to enlist Alibaba as shareholder, signs China JV | Reuters

“China’s Alibaba plans to acquire a stake of up to 9.99% in Swiss duty free group Dufry, Dufry said on Monday, as it announced a new Chinese joint venture with the tech giant.

“Alibaba Group and Dufry AG (Dufry) have agreed to enter into a collaboration to jointly explore and invest in opportunities in China to develop the travel retail business and to enhance Dufry’s digital transformation,” Dufry said in a statement.

The Swiss firm has reeled under the hit of COVID-19 and plans to ask shareholders on Oct. 6 to fund a buyout of its Hudson Ltd unit via a new rights issue.”

Read the full article @ Reuters:

Wise Road Capital completed the acquisition of Huba Control from Siemens | MergerLinks

“Wise Road Capital, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of Huba Control, company focused on high-end core component manufacturing, from Siemens, a German multinational conglomerate company. Financial terms were not disclosed. Through its investments, Wise Road Capital is striving to build a healthy international eco-system, leveraging its international management team which combines strong industry experience and investment knowledge.”

Read the full details @ MergerLinks:

Tanzania President cancels ‘killer Chinese loan’ worth $10 bln | Khabarhub

“Tanzania President John Magufuli has cancelled a Chinese loan worth $10 billion saying that the terms of the Chinese loan agreement could only be accepted by a drunken man.

The aforesaid loan had been signed by his predecessor Jakaya Kikwete to construct a port at Mbegani creek in Bagamoyo.

His predecessor, Jakaya Kikwete had signed the deal with Chinese investors to build the port on condition that they would get 30 years to guarantee on the loan and 99 years uninterrupted lease, according to local media reports.”

Read the full article @ Khabarhub:

Traditional football club GC is sold to China | finews.ch

“After a long search, the owners of the Grasshoppers football club found a buyer: the wife of Fosun owner Guo Guangchang took over the majority of the withering club from Zurich. She buys a club that is on the ground.

[…]

Hong Kong-based Jenny Wang’s Champion Union takes over 90 percent of the shares owned by Stüber and Anliker. Wang is the wife of Guo Guangchang, whose Fosun Group already owns the English association Wolverhampton Wanderers.”

Read the full article @ finews.ch:

Waiting for the ‘yes’ from China | Tages-Anzeiger

“The Grasshoppers are about to be sold to the Chinese investment company Fosun – they can use it to secure their future. But is that really a good deal?”

Read the full article @ Tages-Anzeiger:

Interview | «Investitionskontrollen wären ein Schildbürgerstreich» | NZZ

“Stefan Brupbacher ist seit Januar 2019 CEO des Schweizer Verbandes der Maschinen-, Elektro- und Metallindustrie (Swissmem). Im Gastbeitrag plädiert der Jurist und Ökonom für Offenheit gegenüber chinesischen Investoren. Hiesige Firmen, so Brupbachers Fazit, profitierten von Eigentümern aus China.”

Lesen Sie den ganzen Artikel @ NZZ:

Interview | “Investment controls would be a foolish act” | NZZ

“Stefan Brupbacher has been CEO of the Swiss Association of the Mechanical, Electrical and Metal Industries (Swissmem) since January 2019. In this guest contribution, the lawyer and economist advocates openness to Chinese investors. Local companies, according to Brupbacher’s conclusion, would benefit from owners from China.

Read the full article @ NZZ:

For the Chinese Ambassador in Switzerland, the worst has passed | Corriere del Ticino

“Tourism is not concerned about the growing number of deaths caused by the coronavirus epidemic: “The virus is sensitive to temperature: when it gets warmer it becomes weaker.””

Interview | “Our quiet diplomacy makes us personable” | NZZ

Felix Sutter, President of the Swiss-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, on the challenges for Swiss companies in China, the discussion about a “Lex China” and the special relationship between the Swiss and the Chinese.

@ NZZ (German) | January 7, 2020

Interview | «Unsere leise Diplomatie macht uns sympathisch» | NZZ

Felix Sutter, Präsident der Wirtschaftskammer Schweiz-China, über die Herausforderungen für Schweizer Firmen in China, die Diskussion um eine «Lex China» und das spezielle Verhältnis der Schweizer zu den Chinesen.

@ NZZ (Deutsch) | 7. Januar 2020

Even more China: Syngenta is increasingly detaching from its Swiss roots | NZZ

The owner Chem China wants to bring the agrochemical business of another Chinese state company, the Sinochem company, into the Basel group. At the same time, Syngenta receives a new CFO with experience in China.

@ NZZ | January 7, 2020

Noch mehr China: Syngenta löst sich immer mehr von seinen Schweizer Wurzeln | NZZ

Der Besitzer Chem China will in den Basler Konzern das Agrochemiegeschäft eines weiteren chinesischen Staatskonzerns, der Firma Sinochem, einbringen. Zugleich erhält Syngenta einen chinaerfahrenen neuen Finanzchef.

@ NZZ | 7. Januar 2020

ChemChina sucht vor dem Börsengang von Syngenta nach Finanzmitteln von staatlich finanzierten chinesischen Unternehmen | Nasdaq

China National Chemical Corp oder ChemChina hat im Rahmen einer Umstrukturierung seines Agrargeschäfts vor dem Börsengang laut Angaben von fünf mit der Situation vertrauten Personen von staatlich finanzierten chinesischen Investoren Finanzierungsmittel in Höhe von bis zu 10 Mrd. USD beantragt. Die Reorganisation umfasst den Schweizer Giganten Syngenta.

@ Nasdaq (Englisch) | 19. Januar 2019

ChemChina seeks funding from Chinese state-backed firms ahead of Syngenta IPO | Nasdaq

China National Chemical Corp, or ChemChina, has approached Chinese state-backed investors for up to $10 billion in funding as part of a reorganisation of its agrichemicals business ahead of a public float, according to five people familiar with the situation. The reorganisation includes Swiss giant Syngenta.

@ Nasdaq (English) | December 19, 2019

Chinese companies buy traditional Swiss companies | Die Volkswirtschaft

“Takeovers by Chinese private companies are less in the public eye: Since 2002, private companies have been allowed to make cross-border takeovers. Of the 498 M&A deals by Chinese companies worldwide in 2015, three quarters were made by private companies. Between 2010 and 2017, the share of private companies in China’s gross domestic product rose from around 20 percent to 60 percent. Four fifths of all workers in China are now employed in the private sector.

In Switzerland, more than three quarters of 80 companies with Chinese owners in 2017 came from the private sector. The acquisitions include traditional companies such as the machine manufacturer Saurer, the knitting machine manufacturer Steiger, the drinking bottle manufacturer Sigg, the shoe manufacturer Bally and the design team of the facade manufacturer Schmidlin.”

Acquired company
(founding year)
Product, IndustryChinese investor
(founding year)
Year of the acquisition
Sigg Switzerland Bottles, Frauenfeld
(1908)
manufacturer of thermos bottlesHaers
(1996)
2016
Steiger, Vionnaz
(1949)
textile machineryNingbo Cixing
(1988)
2010
Designteam Schmidlin, Basel
(1936)
facade engineeringYuanda
(1993)
2008
Source: Juan Wu, University of Freiburg (2019)

Read the full article @ Die Volkszeitung:

China Is Struggling to Offload Foreign Acquisitions, From Yachts to Pizza | Swissinfo

China Inc. is struggling to offload overseas businesses and the accompanying debt in an increasingly volatile market.

In just a few weeks, companies from yacht makers to luxury clothing and pizza outlets — acquired by Chinese firms in recent years — have either scrapped planned initial public offerings or sought alternatives to reduce their debt piles.

@ Swissinfo.ch| October 22, 2019