Deutsche Bank is now nearly 10 percent Chinese owned

The Chinese conglomerate HNA Group has more than doubled its stake in Deutsche Bank from 4.8 percent in March to 9.92 percent according to the most recent regulatory filings, Bloomberg reports. HNA is now the largest shareholder in Europe’s largest investment bank. The group has also recently acquired stakes in the Swiss travel retailer Dufry, the Singaporean logistics firm CWT, and the hotel giant Hilton Inc. On May 2, Jing Daily noted that HNA may be preparing to acquire an unnamed “major” cruise line.

The South China Morning Post analyzed the pace of HNA’s expansion last month, and pointed out that “while other players, including China’s richest man, Wang Jianlin, and insurance group Anbang, have had to rein in their global ambitions, HNA has sealed one deal after another in recent months.” The company, according to (paywall) the New York Times, has deep connections to the government, as its chairman, Chen Feng 陈峰, is part of the National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. Moreover, in 2008, HNA formed a business partnership with the son of He Guoqiang 贺国强, the country’s anti-corruption chief at the time.

• Apple loses ground again in China / WSJ (paywall)
  Though Apple posted its fifth consecutive quarter of shrinking revenue in greater China for the quarter that ended April 1, banks up and down Wall Street remain generally bullish on the company’s performance, including in China. Apple is expected to release an updated iPhone in September.
• China craves foreign goods. Students in Australia supply them / NYT (paywall)
  “Australian goods have become hot commodities in China, and tens of thousands of young Chinese who are students at Australian universities or recent graduates have built a cottage industry to meet that demand.”
• China to start security checks on technology companies in June / WSJ (paywall)
  Read more on the new cybersecurity law in yesterday’s The China Project newsletter.
• China is selling more electric vehicles than the U.S. — and it’s not even close / Quartz
  For more on China’s electric vehicle market, see The China Project’s summary on May 1.
• China’s rust-belt rebound is under threat from slowing inflation / Bloomberg