JUNEASIA BUSINESS OUTLOOK8Hongkong Land Holdings stated that it intends to launch 10 retail developments in seven cities across China during the following five years, raising the nation's total number of commercial projects to 17.According to a statement released on Thursday, the cities will be Chongqing, Chengdu, Wuhan, Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Suzhou. The new developments will also add 280,000 square metres of retail floor space to its China portfolio.Additionally, Hongkong Land announced that it would start selling the upscale waterfront apartments later this year after completing the $8 billion West Bund Financial Hub development in Shanghai in three parts through 2027.By the end of 2023, The West Bund Orbit, a significant public art facility, will also open.The West Bund Financial Hub, which was acquired in 2020 with a joint-venture partner, is situated on a 23.1-hectare mixed-use property in the Xuhui district, where the local government intends to establish a new global financial centre.The development is double the size of the company's Central Portfolio in Hong Kong and is the firm's greatest single project investment to date. Due to rival UBS's acquisition of the Swiss bank, Credit Suisse and a joint venture partner are looking for purchasers for their China securities brokerage business, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation.They said that Citigroup has previously expressed interest in acquiring Credit Suisse Securities China (CSS).Citi is establishing a securities brokerage in China, and its CEO Jane Fraser visited there this past week. One of the persons stated that although it had planned to accelerate growth through an acquisition, it ultimately chose to stay with its original strategy of organic business growth.Chinese securities laws prohibit a single entity from having two licences for brokerages that it owns a majority of. In a successful securities partnership with Beijing State-owned Asset Management, UBS holds a 67 percent share. Credit Suisse agreed to buy out its partner Founder Securities last year and currently owns 51 percent of the losing CSS. Chinese regulators have not yet given their clearance to the transaction.A spokeswoman for CSS and Credit Suisse declined to comment, as did UBS. Citi opted not to respond.The China Securities Regulatory Commission and Founder Securities did not immediately respond to requests for comment. NEWSROOMHONG KONG LAND HOLDINGS TO OPEN MULTIPLE RETAIL DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN CHINACREDIT SUISSE TO PUT ITS CHINA DIVISION UP FOR ACQUISITION
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