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. The first three will be located in Jixian, a county between Beijing and Tianjin, Suzhou's Xiangcheng district and Pinghu in Zhejiang province.

China Resources Beer to buy SABMiller stake

China Resources Beer (Holdings) Co Ltd is seeking to raise HK$9.51 billion ($1.22 billion; 1.1 billion euros) through a deeply discounted rights offer to partly fund the purchase of SABMiller Plc's stake in the companies' joint venture. The owner of Snow, the world's best-selling beer by volume, made the announcement on July 6, after which its shares fell to a two-and-a-half-month low. China Resources Beer said CRH Beer, its controlling shareholder with a 51.67 percent stake, will take up its allotment.

Ele.me seeks backing of NBA legend Bryant

Ele.me, the online food-ordering and delivery offshoot of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, appears set to get an endorsement from retired NBA star Kobe Bryant as it tries to shed its image as a platform for questionable food vendors. A mock-up ad of Bryant posing for the online-to-offline food app has gone viral on China's social networks. An internal note of Ele.me leaked online said the company would announce Bryant's endorsement on July 12. Shanghai-based Ele.me declined to comment and Kobe Inc, launched by Bryant in 2013, was unavailable for comment.

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.

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.

BOC makes loan to paper firm in Vietnam

Bank of China and other lenders signed a syndicated loan of $168 million with Cheng Yang Paper Mill Co on July 4. The syndicated loan is to help improve the competitiveness of Vietnam's paper-making industry, meet the higher demand of Vietnamese people for high-quality paper and improve the living conditions of local people, thus enhancing cooperation between China and Vietnam in investment and trade.

IKEA to recall safety gates over lock fault

Sweden's IKEA Group will recall 7,617 Patrull child safety gates with unreliable locking mechanisms in China, the country's consumer quality watchdog said on July 5. The products to be recalled, which were made in Denmark, were produced between 1998 and 2016, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said. The unreliability of the gates means they may allow small children to fall down stairs, said the watchdog.

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