The Chinese government is formally tightening restrictions on ownership of foreign assets by its domestic companies, Bloomberg reported Monday.
Beijing is now banning outright any investment in gambling and sex-worker industries, Bloomberg said, while encouraging Chinese corporate investments that could boost the country’s goal of infrastructure improvement, the so-called Belt and Road initiative, such as investing in oil and mining enterprises.
Somewhere in the middle, Beijing will cast a more critical eye on industries like hotels and entertainment ventures, Bloomberg said, evaluating proposed acquisitions with greater scrutiny.
A government document obtained by The Associated Press described the new policy as being enacted to ensure the “rational, orderly and healthy development of foreign investment while effectively guarding against risks.”
In March, Chinese movie giant the Dalian Wanda Group scuttled its plans to purchase American television-production company Dick Clark Productions, a move which presaged Friday’s move by the government to more systematically regulate the outflow of Chinese corporate capital.
• Ken Shepherd can be reached at kshepherd@washingtontimes.com.
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