China Denied Strategic Land in Iceland - Updated



Iceland
(Reykjavik, Iceland) No deal is possible.

A Chinese entrepreneur's bid to create a vast nature retreat in Iceland was turned down by the north Atlantic island nation's government Friday, amid concern the deal would have handed a major chunk of territory to a foreign investor.

Iceland's interior ministry said it had rejected an application by the Zyongkun Group, a company controlled by Huang Nubo, a 55-year-old former Chinese government official, in part because no foreign buyer had ever bought so much land in the country.

According to the Icelandic Interior Ministry, "it was considered necessary to limit foreigner's rights to property in Iceland to protect Iceland's independence."

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China Seeks Strategic Land in Iceland
[Previous 8/30/11 post]
(Reykjavík, Iceland) A former Chinese Propaganda Department Minister who now heads an investment group, Huang Nubo, seeks to buy a sizable chunk of Iceland reportedly to build a luxury hotel and resort.

An offer of one billion kroner ($8.8 million) has been submitted for an area encompassing 155 square miles. However, the proposed deal is controversial.

Critics of the plan fear it could be used by China to gain a strategic foothold in Iceland.

Strategic foothold could be a euphemism for a forward operating base.

Some in Iceland have raised concerns about the long term implications of Icelandic territory entering foreign hands, and that the land could give China future access to deep sea ports in the area.

"We face the fact that a foreign tycoon wants to buy 300sq km of Icelandic land. This has to be discussed and not swallowed without chewing," Interior Minister Ogmundur Jonasson wrote on his website.

He said China was known for its "long term thinking alongside buying up the world" and warned against Iceland accepting the purchase without full consideration.

I agree.