Blackstone launches Beijing office
BEIJING (AFP) — US private equity fund Blackstone Group announced on Monday that it has opened an office in Beijing to further tap into the fast-growing Chinese market.
Fu Shan, former vice president of Beijing Mainstreets Investment Group, a Shenzhen-listed real estate investment firm, has been appointed as the office's chief representative, the firm said in a statement on its website.
Fu was also a former official with China's National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planning agency, it said.
"The opening of our Beijing office and the appointment of Shan further underlines our deep commitment to China and the Chinese market," said Stephen Schwarzman, chairman and co-founder of Blackstone, in the statement.
Blackstone's relationship with China made headlines in 2007 when it announced China Investment Corp., a firm charged with handling part of the nation's forex reserve, was making its first ever investment by putting three billion dollars into the private equity group.
Blackstone has made its first foray into China's property market as well, investing 1.1 billion yuan (160 million dollars) in a Shanghai commercial building, according to previous Chinese media reports.
It has also won government approval to buy a 20-percent stake in chemical firm China National BlueStar for around 600 million dollars.
