I am much in favor of the draft law in the EU called “The reciprocity Law”. The idea is simple: level playing field between the two trade groups. To put it simple, if a non-EU company wants to do a public project in the EU, they can do it as long as a EU company could do the same in the foreign country. Karel De Gucht has been trying to promote the idea, but with little success so far.
Our Chinese friends are getting “upset” by market access issues in the EU while they are being allowed to undertake projects there that are impossible dreams for EU companies in China. See as an example ( from the FCCC Newsletter):
“The Beijing Construction Engineering Group (BCEG) has signed a deal with British firms to develop a business district – Airport City – around Manchester Airport. Described as one of the largest construction projects in the country since the 2012 London Olympics, it will cost GBP800 million. Manchester Airport’s operator MAG, GMPF, a pension fund based in the city, and British construction group Carillion would work alongside BCEG on the project. The development would eventually create 16,000 jobs for the region. The Airport City Project will see the construction of offices, hotels, warehouses and sites for advanced manufacturing and logistics covering an area of 418,000 square meters. Manchester Airport is used by more than 20 million passengers annually.”
Nice. Now tell that to a EU construction group that would love to do the same in China. Kidding, right? Basically all international construction companies were forced to pack their bags and leave as regulations effectively barred them from doing anything other than some vague “consulting”. The list could go on and on
Not to be surprized, London Mayor Boris Johnson arrived in Beijing recently with a business delegation to attract Chinese sovereign funds, banks and developers to fund an overhaul of the British capital in the years to come. “Our Mayor’s interest is about new infrastructure,” said Gordon Innes, CEO of London and Partners, the official promotional organization for the city.
Of course, our poor EU has fallen down so much that it now needs the Chinese money.
The Chinese have also become major players around the world in buying up massive real estate volumes (London, Paris, New York, anywhere). Now, as a foreign investor in China, good luck to you. You barely can buy an apartment as a foreigner. Reports the FCCC Newsletter:
Dubai has become one of the latest hotspots for Chinese real estate buyers. Dubai state-owned Nakheel, the developer of the man-made island Palm Jumeirah, has hired Chinese-speaking staff to cope with the new rush of clients from China. According to the Consulate General of China in Dubai, over 270,000 Chinese nationals live in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). “Apartment prices rose 15% in the last 12 months but they are still 19% below their peak in 2008, the year before the global financial crisis hit the Dubai real estate market,” said Craig Plumb at Jones Lang LaSalle.
State-controlled developer Greenland is investing in a New York property project valued at more than USD5 billion, becoming the latest Chinese real estate company to venture overseas. It signed a memorandum of understanding on October 2 with Forest City Ratner to develop the Atlantic Yards Apartment Project in Brooklyn. It will take a 70% stake in the development, anchored by the Barclays Center, home of the National Basketball Association’s Brooklyn Nets.