IN BRIEF (Page 24)

COSCO Shipping invests more in Piraeus Port

China COSCO Shipping Co, the country's largest shipping company by fleet size, announced on July 6 that it will invest another 500 million euros ($556 million) in Greece's Piraeus Port after officially becoming the port's majority shareholder this week. Under the plan, COSCO Shipping will build a port to berth cruise liners and a large-scale passenger transport center with the capacity for 10,000 people, to diversify the port's services, as well as investing in new ports for container ships and vehicle ro-ro carriers.

PCVP joins HNA to bring in French style

France's largest vacation real estate company, Pierre & Vacances-Center Parcs Group, and Hainan Airlines Co Ltd announced the locations of three planned vacation sites in China with an area of more than 300 hectares. The projects would bring the French vacation lifestyle to the Chinese market, the two companies said in Paris and Beijing on July 4. Over the next three years, the joint venture plans to develop five projects inspired by the Center Parcs concept in China.

Lenovo acquires NEC's stake in joint venture

Lenovo Group Ltd, the world's largest personal computer maker, will spend about $195 million to acquire its PC joint venture with the Japanese company NEC Corp. Lenovo will buy roughly 44 percent in Lenovo NEC Holdings BV, a joint venture established five years ago, NEC said on its official website. NEC will retain about 5 percent of the ordinary shares. The venture has helped the Beijing-based company become the biggest PC maker in Japan.

Tencent in talks on Supercell deal

Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd is in talks with high-profile investors, including sovereign-wealth fund China Investment Corp and a Canadian pension fund, to participate in its $8.6 billion acquisition of Finnish game maker Supercell Oy and suggests joining in could quadruple their money in four years, according to the Wall Street Journal. "We are in the process of talking to potential investors in the consortium who are interested in participating in the long-term success of Supercell," Tencent said in reply to China Daily.

AC Milan sale nears the final whistle

Silvio Berlusconi's long quest to find a new owner for his football club, AC Milan, appears to be close to a conclusion, with the former Italian prime minister saying he has agreed to a deal with a Chinese group. The Berlusconi family's investment vehicle has been in exclusive talks with Asian investors, who have been conducting detailed analysis of the club's finances for several months. Now, a deal in principle has been reached, according to Berlusconi, who spoke to reporters on July 5 after leaving a Milan hospital where he underwent heart surgery last month.

(China Daily European Weekly 07/08/2016 page24)