{"id":135965,"date":"2012-05-08T02:40:05","date_gmt":"2012-05-08T09:40:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/?p=135965"},"modified":"2012-05-08T02:40:05","modified_gmt":"2012-05-08T09:40:05","slug":"signs-of-solution-in-iceland-land-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2012\/05\/signs-of-solution-in-iceland-land-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Signs of Solution in Iceland Land Deal"},"content":{"rendered":"
After rejecting his offer to buy a\u00a0300 square km\u00a0piece of land<\/a>\u00a0in November, property tycoon Huang Nubo now claims that Icelandic authorities have approved\u00a0a deal<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0that would allow him to\u00a0lease the land instead. From China Daily:<\/p>\n Huang said he learned the good news from his company’s agent in Reykjavik at midnight Friday. He assured China Daily that he will sign a deal in mid-June but “the details of the term will need further negotiation”.<\/p>\n Huang said he believes that, during the whole process, he has played a positive role in telling his personal story of turning from a government employee to a successful private business owner during the 30 years of the country’s reform and opening up. He worked for a Party department and the Ministry of Construction in the 1980s but quit in the early 1990s when many officials turned to business during the economic boom.<\/p>\n “I’m accompanied by a handful of successful businessmen like me. The West knows little about the transformation. My story helps them to better understand China and what’s happening here,” he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The long-term lease agreement likely assuages fears in Iceland that\u00a0an outright purchase would help China gain a foothold in the\u00a0Artic region<\/a> for energy resources and shipping, and\u00a0paves the way for Huang to open a resort<\/a> on the land within the next five years.<\/p>\n