Appointment

Accor appoints senior VP of Ibis Asia

Accor has named Gilles Larriv¨¦ as the new Senior Vice President of Ibis Asia based in Shanghai. Prior to his most recent position, Mr Larriv¨¦ held numerous senior management roles working in Accor's economy hotel sector. Before coming to Shanghai he was Managing Director of Economy Hotels France, covering both the Formule 1 and Etap networks. This will be his second posting with Accor in Asia, having started with Accor Asia Pacific in 1991 in hotel business development. He later became Executive Project Coordinator in 1993 focusing on Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Daimler Chrysler names new Northeast Asia CEO

DaimlerChrysler has appointed Ulrich Walker as Chairman and CEO of DaimlerChrysler Northeast Asia. Walker, who is currently President and CEO of DaimlerChrysler's smart division, and who was a member of the board of managers of Mitsubishi Motors, will be responsible for all operations and joint ventures in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and the Republic of Korea. "Ulrich Walker brings vast international leadership experience to the fastest-growing automotive market in the world," said Dr Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management, DaimlerChrysler AG. "All of DaimlerChrysler's divisions are present in Northeast Asia, where we are expanding sales and local production with multiple partners."

DLA PIPER announces new addition

DLA Piper announced that ex-CIETAC (China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission) arbitration expert, Jessica Zhao, has joined DLA Piper's arbitration practice group. Zhao has extensive experience in the field of commercial arbitration, in which she has been working for over ten years. In 1996 she joined CIETAC in Beijing and in 2005 was appointed Deputy Secretary General of the Commission's Shanghai sub-branch. According to Mr Jingzhou Tao, managing partner of the DLA Piper Beijing office, "The acceleration of foreign-related transactions in China in recent years has drastically increased the number of international commercial disputes and therewith the need of an efficient dispute resolution mechanism. Taking into account the disadvantages of court litigation in China, arbitration is becoming more and more important." DLA Piper's international arbitration practice has handled cross-border disputes in jurisdictions across Europe, Asia and the US.

Launch

Cushman & Wakefield launch prime location office building

Cushman & Wakefield announced its appointment as office leasing agent for Park Place, a premium grade A office site under construction in central Shanghai. Immediately adjacent to Jing'an Park on the south side of West Nanjing Road, Park Place covers an area of 91,000 square metres and is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2007. The site will include a 40,000-sqm luxury retail mall, a 230-room boutique hotel and unobstructed views of Jing'an Park from every floor. Chris Cuff, general manager of Cushman & Wakefield, said, "Retail and office tenants will receive very good value for money at Park Place given its quality and location. Rents for top-quality office buildings in Shanghai are still far lower than similar buildings in other major centers in Asia, including Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul."

ABN AMRO launches financial services

ABN AMRO has launched its leasing business in China to provide asset-based finance products to clients for capital expenditure and expansion plans. The Netherlands-based bank said it expected demand to concentrate mainly on the leasing of capital goods such as mining and pharmaceutical equipment, manufacturing plants, electricity plants and port handling equipment. "Given the reforms to the leasing regulatory framework currently being contemplated and expected to be implemented during the course of 2007, we believe leasing finance will become a more viable alternative for both Chinese and international companies," said John Rutkowski, head of ABN AMRO Asset Based Finance Asia.

Deutsche Bank launches wealth management service in Shanghai

Deutsche Bank is launching its private wealth management (PWM) service in mainland China, starting in Shanghai. Pierre de Weck, Duetsche Bank's global head of PWM, said, "China's growth is generating significant affluence and the need for wealth management services is rapidly expanding. Clients are seeking more sophisticated solutions in managing their wealth and we see huge growth potential in China as the process of market deregulation continues." Robert Kung, head of PWM China, said the German bank "has a vision to provide the best service and superior investment solutions to the domestic clients. Individual motivations vary, but three priorities are often central to our clients - to provide for their family, to protect their business interests and to realize their passions." Deutsche Bank has over 130 years of experience in servicing the needs of wealthy clients around the world. It has over ?170 billion in client assets and over 3,000 staff in 30 different countries.

KBC to launch JV in Shanghai

Belgium's biggest fund manager, KBC, is going to launch a joint venture with Goldstate Securities Co, which will be based in Shanghai. KBC will pay US$9.35 million for a 49 percent stake in Goldstate, which is owned by Beijing Airport. KBC's business focus lies mainly in Europe, but the company has been expanding into Asian emerging markets in the past few years. The fund venture will be its first investment in China since it set up a representative office in Shanghai in 2004.

Deal

Telefonica and China Netcom form JV

Telefonica announced an agreement with China Netcom to form a joint venture that will hold majority shares in PCCW, one of the leading phone operators in Hong Kong. The three communications companies have signed an alliance so they can cooperate fully in mobile phone services. Telefonica will buy an 8 percent stake in PCCW, bringing the JV's total shares in the Hong Kong firm up to 27.94 percent. China Netcom Group said Telefonica was a well-known international telecom operator and its entry into PCCW would help to enhance the value of PCCW and guarantee better returns to the shareholders. The acquisition of PCCW represents an investment of about ?323 million by Telefonica, though it may receive a 10 percent discount depending on PCCW's share price performance over the first 10 months of the agreement.

ING approved for Henan insurance ING's joint venture with Beijing Capital Group has received approval from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) to set up a branch in Zhengzhou, Henan province. The licence enables ING Capital Life to apply to the local CIRC to open sales and marketing offices, allowing it to sell life insurance products across the province. It will be the first Sino-foreign JV to begin operations in Henan. The JV already has offices in Beijing, Dalian, Shenyang, Jinan, Anshan and Panjin.

BBVA partners with CITIC

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (BBVA) and CITIC Group signed a strategic alliance to develop a leading financial group in Asia. BBVA will acquire five percent of China CITIC Bank (CNCB) for ?501 million with an option to increase the shares to 9.9 percent. It will also purchase a 15 percent stake in CITIC International Financial Holdings (CIFH) for ?488 million. The total investment is the biggest made by a Spanish company in mainland China and Hong Kong. BBVA will conduct corporate and investment banking across Asia with CIFH (CITIC Group's international unit) and signifies a major step in the Spanish bank's move towards the China and Hong Kong markets.

Savills secures US$300 million deal

Savills Shanghai announced its involvement as the buyer's agent in the transaction of Hopson International Tower in Shanghai for US$300 million. The tower is a 33-storey building designed by KPF and East China Architectural Design & Research Institute, including 27 floors of international grade A office space and three floors of retail space located on the Huangpu River in central Lujiazui district. Construction is expected to be completed in early 2008. "To our knowledge, this deal is the largest transaction brokered by any agency in mainland China, and represents one of the largest purchases by any international property investor," said Randall Hall, CEO of Savills China. According to Matt Brailsford, Director of Investment, the deal is a "landmark project which will be a major part of the Pudong skyline for decades to come". As well as Shanghai, Savills property service has offices in Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Chengdu and Tianjin and over 2,000 staff in China.