Posts tagged ‘Switzerland’

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10/02/2015

Dalian Wanda to buy Swiss sports firm for $1.2 billion amid entertainment push | Reuters

China’s Dalian Wanda Group Co signed a 1.05 billion euros ($1.2 billion/ £787 million) deal to buy Swiss sports marketing firm Infront Sports & Media AG, and said it plans to acquire more overseas companies this year to deepen its push into sports and entertainment.

A man walks in front of an entrance to a Wanda Department Store in Wuhan, Hubei province, in this December 23, 2014 file photo. REUTERS/Stringer/Files

The acquisition will see Wanda Group, China’s largest property developer which also controls the country’s largest cinema chain, take a 68.2 percent stake in Infront, which focuses on distributing media rights for broadcasting sports events including the football World Cup and several Olympic winter sports.

Three unidentified Chinese and global investors will take the remaining minority stake, Wanda executives told Reuters. Infront generated about 800 million euros in revenue last year.

“This purchase allows Wanda to become a global leader in the sports industry in a single bound,” Dalian Wanda Chairman Wang Jianlin told reporters after a deal signing ceremony in Beijing.

“In addition to Infront, Wanda will buy at least two cultural companies this year,” he added, without giving details.

via Dalian Wanda to buy Swiss sports firm for $1.2 billion amid entertainment push | Reuters.

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21/10/2014

Schindler Raises Profit Forecast as China, India Grow Faster – Businessweek

Schindler Holding AG (SCHP) raised its full-year profit forecast after the Swiss elevator maker’s nine-month earnings were boosted by rapidly expanding sales in China and India.

Schindler increased its net profit forecast by 15 million francs ($16 million) to as much as 865 million francs, supported also by the consolidation of Chinese subsidiary XJ-Schindler and the sale of land in Switzerland. Ebikon-based Schindler stuck to a prediction of 6 percent to 8 percent sales growth in local currencies.

Silvio Napoli, who became chief executive officer in January after almost six years as head of Schindler’s Asia-Pacific business, was promoted as the Swiss company expands operations in Chinese and Indian markets, where it predicts sales of elevators will grow fastest over the next decades. Schindler is far exceeding market growth in each of these countries, the company said today.

Nine-month net income gained 91 percent to 703 million francs, while sales rose 3.2 percent to 6.7 billion francs.

Earnings at Schindler, a company with a market capitalization of $15 billion, bucked a more subdued outlook among European industrials. Royal Philips NV Chief Executive Officer Frans Van Houten said yesterday that the maker of health-care equipment and light bulbs is facing sustained softness in a number of markets such as China and Russia, after reporting quarterly earnings that missed estimates.

The Schindler and Bonnard families, along with related parties, hold 67.3 percent of the voting rights in the company which dates back to 1874.

via Schindler Raises Profit Forecast as China, India Grow Faster – Businessweek.

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11/12/2013

Santander ups bet on China with Bank of Shanghai stake | Reuters

Santander (SAN.MC), Spain\’s largest bank, is to buy HSBC\’s (HSBA.L) 8 percent stake in Bank of Shanghai, just as many international rivals are beginning to sell out of China.

A man uses an ATM machine at a Santander bank branch in Madrid September 16, 2013. REUTERS/Juan Medina

Santander, which already has a consumer finance venture in China as well as a car financing business, said on Tuesday the Bank of Shanghai deal also included a cooperation agreement, taking the value of its investment to 470 million euros ($647.3 million).

Several major U.S. and European banks including Bank of America (BAC.N) and Switzerland\’s UBS (UBSN.VX) have started shedding their Chinese holdings for a variety of regulatory and business reasons.

via Santander ups bet on China with Bank of Shanghai stake | Reuters.

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25/05/2013

* China seals first free-trade deal with Switzerland

Will this be the first of many FTAs?  Will the floodgates be opened?

BBC: “China has signed the framework of a free-trade agreement with Switzerland, which could become Beijing’s first such deal with a major Western economy.

Chinese secretary of trade and Swiss economy minister sign memorandum of understanding of free trade on 24 May

The signing ceremony took place during an official visit by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to Switzerland.

Bilateral trade between the two countries is worth $26bn through imports and exports of watches, medicines, textiles and dairy products.

Mr Li said he hoped the deal would be felt beyond Switzerland’s borders.

“This free-trade deal is the first between China and a continental European economy, and the first with one of the 20 leading economies of the globe,” Mr Li told reporters after the two countries signed the preliminary agreement.

“This has huge meaning for global free-trade,” he added.

For his part, Swiss President Ueli Maurer described the agreement as a “real milestone”.

China is Switzerland’s third biggest trading partner after the European Union and America, with exports to China of watches, pharmaceuticals and machinery amounting to over $22bn.

It is no coincidence that China’s premier made Switzerland his first stop on his brief European tour, the BBC’s Imogen Foulkes in Berne says.

China has hinted it could also make Switzerland its financial centre of choice, if Beijing allows offshore trading of its currency, the yuan, she adds.”

via BBC News – China seals first free-trade deal with Switzerland.

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27/04/2013

* China Haidian may buy more watchmakers after Corum

Corum

Corum (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Reuters: “China Haidian Holdings (0256.HK) may not stop at this week’s acquisition of Swiss watchmaker Corum as it seeks a foothold in high-end timepieces popular with Chinese consumers.

Chinese appetite for Swiss luxury watches has exploded in recent years, boosting sales at industry leaders Swatch Group (UHR.VX) and Richemont (CFR.VX).

But growth, particularly in top-end watches, has ground to a halt as the Chinese economy loses steam and a crackdown on giving expensive gifts as favours hurts demand.

China Haidian, which bought Swiss watch brand Eterna in 2011, said on Wednesday it was acquiring Corum Watches for 86 million Swiss francs ($90.8 million) to develop its Swiss brand portfolio and attract more Chinese customers.

“We may consider additional acquisitions in the future to grow our business if an opportunity arises,” Hon Kwok Lung, chairman of China Haidian, said on Friday in written answers to questions from Reuters.

He said no purchases were planned for now.

Hon said China Haidian wanted to use its retail network in China to help distribute and market Corum watches in China, as it did with Eterna.

Eterna has said its revenue grew in 2012, but product and market development costs brought it a net loss of HK$69.28 million. It expects Eterna to break even in a couple of years.”

via China Haidian may buy more watchmakers after Corum | Reuters.

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