Europe is seeking a cash lift from Asia.
It’s fairly well known that Asia is flush with liquidity, while Europe is in serious need of some economic growth. So, the European Union decided to seek Asian investors to “inject 315 billion euros into a range of long-term projects from broadband infrastructure to green energy,” reported Reuters.
The EU brought the dog-and-pony show to Hong Kong Thursday to present its new European Fund for Strategic Investment. The EU hopes the new plan will revive growth and create more than one million jobs. The EU said it plans to fund about 20% of each project and is currently willing to guarantee 16 billion euros of loans. Under the plan, “EU institutions would act as junior partners in any investment, meaning they would take the first hit were the project to run into problems,” said Reuters.
The prices on European companies are so low that the idea is a “no brainer”, Vincent Chu, chairman of First Eastern Investment Group, told Reuters. His firm has already invested more than $300 million in Europe, China’s biggest export market. Chu said Chinese companies are keen to get into Europe to access technology and know-how and bring these back into Asia. Some say access, some say steal.
Those in the latter group, small, family-owned European firms, are not in any rush to accept Chinese investors.
The European Parliament is expected to approve the plan in July.
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