AAEE on the way to buy companies in America

Since its launch in November, the Asia America Equity Exchange (AAEE), a partner of the China Beijing Equity Exchange (CBEX), has been hard at work satisfying a mandate for target acquisitions.

The AAEE is "in the middle of buying companies", said CEO Slenda Chan. And although she said "most of what's occurring is confidential", she did reveal that the AAEE has signed exclusivity for some of the listings on the exchange.

In addition, AAEE's fund management, arts and entertainment, and real estate divisions have been created and it is completing the assembly of its trading and procurement division. Chan said the exchange is also developing a website for real-time transactions and auctions and plans to open key markets throughout the region most likely expanding to New York and San Francisco.

The exchange is intended to serve as a platform for Chinese companies to facilitate acquisitions and investment transactions with investors and partners in the Americas and the Caribbean. At the same time, it provides companies within this region access to the Chinese markets.

The November unveiling in downtown Miami marked the AAEE's entrance into the US. Chan said that Miami was chosen because of its proximity to Latin America.

"As a trading partner, the Latin American market is the fastest growing market for Chinese trading activities," Chan said. "Latin America has a lot of resources, such as raw materials, that China would love to acquire."

CBEX was approved by the Beijing municipal government to sell assets of State-owned companies to international buyers. It is the "largest asset-trading platform with a nationwide service network", according to AAEE, and represents 150 top State-owned enterprises. CBEX totaled more than $130 billion in governmental and private transactions in 2008. It has exchanges in Tokyo, Japan; Milan, Italy, and Toronto, Canada.

"AAEE will help us raise a $100 million in equity capital on the exchange," said Lee Maher, chairman and CEO of Orlando, Fla-based Solar Blue. Maher was among the business executives of the 10 companies that officially signed investment projects at the exchange's unveiling.

Solar Blue conducts research, designs, manufactures and installs solar energy systems and is one of the fastest growing and largest energy conservation companies on the east coast, he explained. Maher eventually plans to set up offices in Asia.

Other companies listed as investment opportunities include Costa Blanca, a luxury development in the Dominican Republic, Miskito Woods in Brazil, and Oppenheimer & Co, an investment management and advisory firm in New York.

(China Daily 02/23/2009 page4)