Latest news with #ChowTaiFookEnterprises
Fox News
28-04-2025
- Business
- Fox News
China's billion-dollar footprint near Florida coast poses US national security risk, expert warns
China is steadily expanding in the Bahamas through projects that blur economic development and geopolitical aims, an expert warned. "The People's Republic of China has been making diplomatic, economic and even military and quasi-military inroads into the Caribbean, South and Central America for the past couple of decades," retired Rear Adm. Peter Brown, former Homeland Security advisor to President Donald Trump, told Fox News Digital. Brown pointed to the rise in dual-use infrastructure projects along the Bahamas coastline, which is located just 50 miles off the coast of Florida. "It doesn't take a lot of imagination for the People's Republic of China to use its commercial footprint in the Bahamas to monitor, exploit and perhaps even do worse to [the] U.S.," he said. Pointing to the Chinese-controlled British Colonial Hotel in Nassau, Bahamas, Brown said that its location directly across from the U.S. Embassy could give way to intelligence gathering on U.S. personnel. "It doesn't take a lot of imagination to think that additional electronics were put in there with the purpose and the task of keeping an eye not only on the U.S. Embassy itself, but also the U.S. Embassy visitors," he said. The hotel is owned by a Chinese company, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, which has raised geopolitical concerns given its location. Fox News Digital has reached out to the British Colonial Hotel for comment. China has invested heavily in the Bahamas through a range of additional high-profile projects, including a $40 million grant for a national stadium, a $3 billion mega-port in Freeport, and $40 million for the North Abaco Port and Little Abaco Bridge. Additionally, China EXIM Bank provided over $54 million in loans to construct a four-lane highway and nearly $3 billion to finance the development of the Baha Mar Resort. Many of these strategic investments came in the wake of the devastating Hurricane Dorian in 2019 that left much of the archipelago nation decimated. In 2019, now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned in a Miami Herald op-ed that the devastation caused by the natural disaster could create an opening for the People's Republic of China to use aid as a Trojan horse to gain a foothold near American shores. "By targeting the Bahamian government in this period of crisis, Beijing would be making the same opportunistic play to access critical foreign infrastructure," Rubio wrote in 2019. "But in this case, the national security threat is especially perilous, as it would give China a foothold just 50 miles from the coast of Florida." In addition to growing Chinese infrastructure influence, Brown highlighted the Bahamas' role in U.S. military testing and its position under key space launch paths. "The U.S. Navy has an underwater testing facility, called Autech, that does very significant and sensitive submarine and anti-submarine warfare work," he said. "[And] the Bahamas are right in the flight path of many space launches." Brown said that the biggest benefit that the U.S. gets from an ongoing collaborative relationship with the Bahamas is security. "The better relationship we have, the more secure we can be, because we can detect and deal with issues when they're still kind on the Bahamas side of the Straits of Florida," he said. "From an economic standpoint, the huge gain for the Bahamas is that trade and tourism transportation with the United States," he said. "So, it's in our mutual interest for us to have a good relationship with the Bahamians." As China increases its presence in the region, the U.S. risks losing influence if it fails to remain the Bahamas' primary ally, Brown said. "If we're not the Bahamas' best friend, somebody else will be—and we don't want that somebody to be China."
South China Morning Post
01-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
New World Development plans sweetening of terms on two loans that it is seeking
New World Development plans to sweeten the terms of two loans it is seeking, using a prized asset that it has already pledged as collateral for another facility, people familiar with the matter said this week. Advertisement Under the revised terms for the two loans, which total HK$87.5 billion (US$11.2 billion), the Hong Kong developer would offer the Victoria Dockside complex as a second-ranking security to banks, adding it to the approximately 40 other properties already in the collateral pool, the people said. The term-sweetening would be made on the condition that the cash-strapped company obtained a new HK$15.6 billion loan that Victoria Dockside is intended to back, the people added. They asked not to be identified as they were discussing private matters. The arrangement would give the two lenders some extra support, though they would rank lower than those on the new loan when it comes to the asset. In addition, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, which is controlled by the family of billionaire Henry Cheng Kar-shun, would offer what is known as a 'letter of comfort' for the two loans, the people said. A letter of comfort is usually issued by a borrower's parent or major shareholder to its lenders to show support, though it may not be legally enforceable. Advertisement New World, also controlled by Cheng's family, faces one of the highest debt burdens among Hong Kong developers, as the city's property market remains mired in a slump. The company has been in discussions with banks since January as lenders have grown increasingly cautious over its liquidity conditions.
Reuters
10-02-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Australia's Star Entertainment rises on bids for its Brisbane joint venture
Feb 10 (Reuters) - Shares of Australia's Star Entertainment Group ( opens new tab rose on Monday after the embattled casino operator said it received separate offers from its Hong Kong-based investors to acquire a 50% interest in its Destination Brisbane Joint Venture. The Brisbane-headquartered firm's stock was up 9.1% at A$0.12, as of 2317 GMT, and was the top gainer on the broader benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index (.AXJO), opens new tab, which was down 0.6%. The stock, which is currently the top gainer on the benchmark index, has shed 42.1% so far this year. Destination Brisbane Consortium is a joint venture between Star Entertainment and its Hong Kong partners, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium. It operates Queen's Wharf Brisbane which includes, opens new tab luxury hotels and restaurants, among other amenities. Star owns 50% interest, opens new tab in the joint venture while Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium own 25% each. The casino operator said none of the proposals have provided "sufficient value" for the company and that it continues to engage with the both the parties to negotiate the proposals. The announcement came as response to recent media report relating to the proposed offers. Last month, Star said it would divest its Star Sydney Event Centre assets to theater owner and operator Foundation Theatres for A$60 million ($37.5 million) as it undergoes a cash and liquidity crunch. Since 2021, Star has been embroiled in a slew of government probes over possible breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism laws at its Sydney and Queensland casinos. ($1 = 1.5997 Australian dollars)
