BEIJING—China is to restrict foreign investments in sports clubs, real estate and entertainment and is banning investment in pornography and “unauthorized” military technology. The new rules were announced Friday by the government, which had previously encouraged overseas spending sprees, but then warned late last year of “irrational” acquisitions amid fears that powerful conglomerates were racking up dangerous debt levels. Wanda has announced the sale of 77 of its hotels and 13 tourism projects to Chinese real estate developers Sunac and R&F properties for a whopping $9.3 billion. The only companies still permitted to make overseas investments are firms “supporting the real economy” or working with new technologies. Meanwhile, China’s first “cyber court” was launched on Friday to settle online disputes, as the legal system attempts to keep up with the explosion of mobile payment and e-commerce.

Source: The Standard August 19, 2017 13:41 UTC