The article “Old world, smart money” in the March issue of China Business Law Journal concludes that a wider field of investment interest and a deeper understanding of place denotes the new Chinese presence in Western Europe. This is the profile of the new Chinese investor.
In the same article Lisbon lawyers say Portugal’s public debt is perceived as an opportunity for Chinese investors, since many Portuguese companies are welcoming foreign investment as a form of raising new finance. João Soares da Silva, Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva’s partner, comments that “we have reasons to believe that Chinese companies, as well as Chinese banks, are also interested in areas like trade, finance, construction and tourism, among others”.
We should highlight that Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva followed closely the transaction considered the biggest single investment made by a Chinese company in a European country and the largest Portuguese privatization executed to date. The firm advised EDP and the Portuguese government in the deal in which China Three Gorges, a state-owned company, acquired the Portuguese state’s 21.35% stake in EDP, the Portuguese electricity company, for €2.7 billion.
