Canberra has prohibited China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), a PRC state construction company, from taking over an Australian company, as tensions between the two countries show no signs of abating.
On January 11, South Africa-based building and civil engineering contractors Wilson Bayly Holmes Ovcon (WBHO), the largest shareholder of Melbourne-headquartered Probuild, told the Johannesburg Stock Exchange that, upon learning that Canberra’s Foreign Investment Review Board would reject the deal “on the grounds of national security,” China State Construction Engineering Corporation, has abandoned its bid.
The Australian Financial Review reported Tuesday (January 12) that CSCEC planned to spend 300 million Australian dollars (US$ 231 million) to acquire WBHO’s 88 percent stake in Probuild.
Source: Voice of America, January 12, 2021
https://www.voachinese.com/a/australia-blocks-chinese-buyout-20210112/5734816.html