Soccer-Reading takeover completed by ex-Wycombe owner Couhig
(Reuters) -Reading have been taken over by former Wycombe Wanderers owner Rob Couhig's company Redwood Holdings Limited, the English Football League said on Wednesday, bringing an end to Chinese businessman Dai Yongge's controversial era.
Yongge was ordered to sell the second-tier Championship club in March having been disqualified under the EFL's owners' and directors' test.
He was initially given until April 4 to complete the sale, but the EFL twice granted an extension to the deadline, with Reading agreeing terms with Redwood Holdings Limited over the sale on May 3.
"Over recent weeks the league has worked closely with all parties to facilitate a timely transfer of ownership in order to end the uncertainty surrounding the club's future for its staff, supporters and wider community," the EFL said.
"We look forward to working closely with the new ownership group and wish the club and its supporters a successful future following a difficult period for all associated with the club."
Yongge, who took over Reading in 2017, has been blamed by fans for the club's problems after they had six points deducted last season for financial mismanagement. They also withdrew from the Women's Championship due to financial issues.
Reading finished seventh in League One, one place behind Leyton Orient who took the final playoff place.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Malaysian Reserve
4 hours ago
- Malaysian Reserve
Xinhua Silk Road: 3rd Tianjin International Shipping Industry Expo kicks off to boost win-win cooperation
BEIJING, June 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The third Tianjin International Shipping Industry Expo (TISIE) kicked off in north China's Tianjin Municipality on Thursday, attracting the attention and participation of over 440 enterprises. To better present the development achievements of China's shipping industry and the future development trend of the global shipping industry, the expo is themed on 'Shipping to the World and Navigating towards the Future, Embracing New Opportunities for Openness and Cooperation'. It focuses on the entire shipping industry chain, aiming to create the largest and most influential shipping industry event and cooperation exchange platform in China and even the world. Lasting till June 14, the expo features nine exhibition areas involving international ports, green and smart shipping, shipping industry chains, etc., covering over 50,000 square meters, and over 20 professional activities will be held to display the development modes of the shipping industry from multiple dimensions. Representatives from various ports, industries, and authoritative research institutions at home and abroad shared the latest trends in global port and shipping development at the opening ceremony. Major industry achievements were also released at the opening ceremony, including the blue book on the development of Tianjin international shipping center by China Economic Information Service (CEIS), the port economic development report of Chinese seaport cities by the Transport Planning and Research Institute with the Ministry of Transport, the ESG evaluation guidelines for international shipping and logistics enterprises, etc. Tianjin Port's operation reached its historical high level in 2024, with container throughput rising to eighth in the world and sea-rail intermodal transportation ranking third among coastal ports in China, and its land-sea connectivity and global radiation capabilities have been significantly improved, said Cao Wenzhong, president with CEIS. According to the 2024 Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Center Development Index, Tianjin's shipping service industry has gradually taken shape, with prominent advantages in shipping finance, Cao noted, adding that the practical exploration of the port-industry-city integration in Tianjin has great demonstration value, and the port economy has risen to become the 'golden engine' for high-quality regional development. Original link:
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
Trump seems to reverse course on Chinese students in US, saying he supports them
US President Donald Trump reiterated his support for Chinese students in America on Thursday and pledged to help them remain in the country after graduation, distancing himself from initiatives that his administration has announced to limit or block international students because of national security concerns. 'I've always been strongly in favour of it. I think it's a great thing,' Trump said on Thursday, referring to Chinese nationals seeking to study in the US. 'It's also good for our schools. It's good for our country.' Trump added that he was in favour of 'letting them stay' and being hired by American companies. 'I'm all for making sure that people like that can go to work for all of our great companies,' he said. If not allowed to remain in the US, he noted, such graduates and entrepreneurs would return to their countries and starting their businesses there. 'This is happening all the time because they're not allowed to stay, and I think we'll probably end up doing something about that, right?' he added. Last month, the Trump administration ordered US embassies worldwide to halt scheduling new student visa interviews, including in China, as part of a broader plan to expand social media vetting for visa applications. Secretary of State Marco Rubio then announced plans to 'aggressively revoke' visas for Chinese students, particularly those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) or studying in 'critical fields'. The policy specifically targeted students from mainland China and Hong Kong. Trump has promoted student visas as a pivotal factor in a much-anticipated trade deal that he has said is 'done' once Chinese President Xi Jinping approves it. Intensifying the review of Chinese student visa applicants has been part of a broader Trump crackdown on US academia's links with China, a campaign that dates back to his first term, when policymakers began raising alarms about whether these educational contacts were giving Beijing a technological edge. But Trump's latest comments appear to flip the narrative into one suggesting that Chinese students are needed for US technological progress. According to the US State Department, 277,398 Chinese students attended US schools during the 2023–2024 school year, a four per cent decrease from the previous year. Additionally, India overtook China as the top source of international students in the US, with 331,602 students – an increase of 23 per cent year-over-year. Chinese students had been the largest foreign student group in the US since the 2009–2010 school year, but their numbers have steadily declined since 2019–2020. While his remarks implied that Trump was now open to cooperation, many in Congress remain sceptical of Beijing's intentions. Earlier on Thursday, during a congressional hearing, US lawmakers accused China of stealing advanced semiconductor technology and exploiting relationships with American universities, as well as loopholes in export controls, to strengthen its military capabilities. Beijing is 'trying to dominate these critical technologies by any means necessary – through state subsidies, forced tech transfers, economic espionage, chip smuggling, and exploiting access to the West's most innovative AI labs and universities', Representative Bill Huizenga, a Michigan Republican who chairs a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on South and Central Asia, contended. The hearing was held to review the proposed 2026 budget for the Bureau of Industry and Security, the Commerce Department agency that enforces export controls. The budget calls for a 133 per cent increase in enforcement funding, after BIS saw about a third of its staff cut by Trump's 'Department of Government Efficiency'. Defending the budget request, Jeffrey Kessler, the department's undersecretary for industry and security, insisted that additional resources were essential to improve enforcement. 'We could do a lot more with the additional resources that we're requesting ... I'm concerned that many instances of wrongdoing go undetected, and that's what the budget request is about,' Kessler said. During his testimony, Kessler warned against underestimating China's ambitions. 'China is investing huge amounts to increase its AI chip production, as well as the capabilities of the chips that it produces. 'So it's critical for us not to have a false sense of security, to understand that China is catching up quickly,' Kessler said. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
The Star
5 hours ago
- The Star
China's top baijiu maker faces sobering reality as austerity trims profits
China's premier liquor distiller Kweichow Moutai – a brand that had, over decades, become synonymous with sumptuous feasts – is heeding a renewed mandate for austerity from Beijing, distancing its products from the extravagant hard-drinking lifestyle with which it had been linked in the public consciousness. Management at the company, valued at 1.86 trillion yuan (US$258.73 billion), has pledged to comply with strictures stressing thrift – guidelines that have helped to remove Moutai's expensive baijiu liquor from government banquets and narrowed the firm's profit margin further. Senior executives vowed to remain vigilant against the risks of corruption at a company meeting on Tuesday, where Moutai chairman Zhang Deqin invoked classic Chinese texts to argue the liquor must promote culture, health and harmony. 'With the baijiu , rites and traditions are upheld, the aged are nourished and joy is shared,' Zhang said, citing the Book of Rites and the Classic of Poetry, both of which date back centuries. Moutai's notoriously strong liquor – around 50 per cent alcohol by volume – has been the drink of choice for China's officials and executives since the early years of the Communist Party. After revolutionary leaders Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai developed a taste for the spirit during their time in the southwestern province of Guizhou, the distinct white bottles have been given as official gifts to visiting dignitaries and become a fixture at lavish dinners. Zhang's remarks followed a March revival of orders to curtail inordinate expenditures on dining, showy official junkets and other entertainment. Most notably, President Xi Jinping has reiterated an eight-point code of conduct - first released in 2012 - to ensure officials do not hold costly receptions at the public's expense. As an SOE it must toe the party line on austerity, even at the cost of its sales The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the party's top anti-corruption organ, has republished up to 80 detailed rules related to the topic, including a ban on party and government dinners and meetings held at popular visitor attractions. 'Working meals should serve ordinary dishes in a home-cooking style. High-end dishes should be avoided, along with cigarettes and high-end liquor,' reads one rule. Moutai's leaders are likely to feel more pressure than most to demonstrate their fealty to official directives. Within the last decade, company chairmen Yuan Renguo and Gao Weidong were given separate prison sentences for bribery; Yuan, placed under investigation in 2019, died of a cerebral haemorrhage in 2023. These developments may spell lean times for Moutai. One of China's largest listed companies by market capitalisation, the company has earned a sizeable profit from the rich and powerful - and the heavy drinking of political cadres. 'Moutai's expensive baijiu and its political duty as a state-owned enterprise (SOE) are seen as at odds,' said Tang Dajie, a senior researcher with the China Enterprise Institute think tank in Beijing. 'As a profit-making company it certainly hopes more customers, including officials, can drink its products,' he added. 'But as an SOE it must toe the party line on austerity, even at the cost of its sales.' When Moutai held an annual shareholder reception in May, tables no longer groaned under rows of heavy white bottles. Instead, orange juice and other non-alcoholic drinks were served. Explaining the change, Moutai's Zhang said at the Tuesday meeting that as an SOE, the company must implement Beijing's decisions to combat waste. He went so far as to support a de facto baijiu ban at official functions and dinners being enforced in many localities, as well as gatherings held by other SOEs. The company also conducted a management overhaul this week, promoting younger executives to reform the firm's sales and marketing strategies. But Tang, the researcher, pointed out that Moutai cannot control how its baijiu is consumed, and its high prices are largely determined by the market. 'It has better taste and quality, and many people stock up on Moutai baijiu as an investment,' he said. 'Though Beijing's austerity push is correct, the government should not intervene in market activities.' The push to trim spending has come at an inopportune moment for Moutai, as muted economic activity has further quelled consumers' thirst for liquor. A May report from Soochow Securities said the company's years-long streak of double-digit revenue and profit growth will end in 2025. Accordingly, prices have been dropping since 2024. As of Wednesday, on several liquor trading platforms, the price of a bottle of 25-year-old Moutai had fallen below 2,000 yuan (US$278), half what had been demanded in more prosperous times. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
