Chilean Lawmakers Push for Restrictions on Chinese Buying Spree
Valentina Fuentes, Bloomberg News
(Bloomberg) A group of Chilean legislators are proposing tighter rules on foreign investment in strategic industries after a Chinese state-owned company agreed to take control of over half of the South American countryâs power distribution.
Lower house members from both the opposition and the ruling coalition presented a bill that would allow congress to block acquisitions of strategic assets by foreign state-owned companies, with debate set to begin this week.
State Grid Corp. of China announced in November it would pay Naturgy Energy Group SA $3 billion for control of Chilean utility CGE. If the deal gets final regulatory approval, the company would control 57% of the countryâs power distribution a move that wouldnât necessarily hurt existing laws. The Chinese company, the worldâs largest utility, currently owns 11% of that market through CGE peer Chilquinta