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Iceland is just the beginning
Source: Bloomberg News |
September 27, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
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THE Chinese billionaire who is investing US$200 million to develop a resort in Iceland said he will use the project as a springboard for resorts in other Nordic countries.
Huang Nubo, 55, said he plans to establish resorts in countries such as Denmark, Finland and Sweden within five years. He is in talks to buy 300 square kilometers of land in Iceland for US$8.8 million from five farmers and expects the Icelandic government to make a decision on the purchase within two weeks.
The developer is expanding outside China as investors take advantage of declining global asset prices. Iceland's OMX Iceland All-Share Index has fallen 85 percent in the past three years following a banking meltdown in the nation and the 2008 global financial crisis.
Huang said: "This deal is attractive, and is also good for my expansion in the Nordic countries. Had there been no financial crisis, they would not sell the land. Of course we should buy low."
Iceland's banking crisis sent the krona down about 80 percent against the euro before the central bank halted the decline with capital controls. Since then, the country has used currency restrictions to protect its economy and to appease creditors seeking to recoup some of the US$85 billion on which Iceland's banks defaulted three years ago.
The country's second-quarter home prices increased 3.8 percent from a year earlier, the 19th-biggest gain among 50 markets in a survey by property agent Knight Frank.
"If I have the site in Iceland, I will expand to other Nordic countries," Huang said. "I will buy land and build resorts in Nordic countries, but they will not be of the magnitude of the project in Iceland."
Huang, founder and chairman of Beijing Zhongkun Investment, was estimated by Forbes magazine to have a wealth of US$1.02 billion. He said he is worth more than that "for sure," as his shopping mall in Beijing alone is valued at more than 43 billion yuan (US$6.7 billion).
He said he does not need a share sale to raise funds for his new ventures. "Why should I?" he said. "I am not short of money."
Huang said his connection with Iceland started 30 years ago at -Peking University, where his roommate and friend was from Iceland.
Huang Nubo, 55, said he plans to establish resorts in countries such as Denmark, Finland and Sweden within five years. He is in talks to buy 300 square kilometers of land in Iceland for US$8.8 million from five farmers and expects the Icelandic government to make a decision on the purchase within two weeks.
The developer is expanding outside China as investors take advantage of declining global asset prices. Iceland's OMX Iceland All-Share Index has fallen 85 percent in the past three years following a banking meltdown in the nation and the 2008 global financial crisis.
Huang said: "This deal is attractive, and is also good for my expansion in the Nordic countries. Had there been no financial crisis, they would not sell the land. Of course we should buy low."
Iceland's banking crisis sent the krona down about 80 percent against the euro before the central bank halted the decline with capital controls. Since then, the country has used currency restrictions to protect its economy and to appease creditors seeking to recoup some of the US$85 billion on which Iceland's banks defaulted three years ago.
The country's second-quarter home prices increased 3.8 percent from a year earlier, the 19th-biggest gain among 50 markets in a survey by property agent Knight Frank.
"If I have the site in Iceland, I will expand to other Nordic countries," Huang said. "I will buy land and build resorts in Nordic countries, but they will not be of the magnitude of the project in Iceland."
Huang, founder and chairman of Beijing Zhongkun Investment, was estimated by Forbes magazine to have a wealth of US$1.02 billion. He said he is worth more than that "for sure," as his shopping mall in Beijing alone is valued at more than 43 billion yuan (US$6.7 billion).
He said he does not need a share sale to raise funds for his new ventures. "Why should I?" he said. "I am not short of money."
Huang said his connection with Iceland started 30 years ago at -Peking University, where his roommate and friend was from Iceland.
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