Exit The Apartment: Jackie Chan Must Sell After Luxury Flats Legal Rumble
Two properties belonging to actor Jackie Chan in downtown Beijing and valued at 100 million yuan ($14.6 million) are listed for auction from Sept. 28 at a starting price of 71.9 million yuan, according to a post on Hanhai Auction's website.
The listing showed the two flats on Dongzhimen Inner Street within Beijing's second ring road offer a combined 1,217 square meters of space with six bedrooms and three living areas.
Chan bought the properties for 33.6 million yuan in 2006 with nearly two-thirds of the settlement covered by fees Chan earned from promotional work for developer Yujia Real Estate. Chan and his family have reportedly lived there since 2007.
The sale is the result of a dispute over ownership by two real estate companies. When selling the flats to Chan in 2006 the developer, Beijing Yujia Real Estate, didn't officially transfer the property rights to the actor. Another Beijing property developer, Tenhong Real Estate Group, filed this June for arbitration against Yujia Real Estate over a debt. A Beijing court ordered the seizure of assets, including the two homes that Chan had bought, South China Morning Post reported.
To date, 20 percent of the flats previously owned by Yujia Real Estate are now on the auction block.
Jackie Chan's son, Jaycee Fong Cho-ming, was arrested in 2014 in one of the two flats for possession of marijuana and "sheltering others to abuse drugs." He was jailed for six months.
Realme Dares To Be Cheap
Shenzhen-based smartphone manufacturer Realme will launch what it says is the world's cheapest 5G handset Wednesday. Prices begin at 999 yuan ($146), according to a statement from the company posted on social media.
The Realme V3 will be the first 5G phone available below 1,000 yuan. The company said its Smart 5G technology will be able to automatically switch between 4G and 5G based on battery usage, scenarios and average internet speed.
What keeps the price so low? Chip manufacturers' increasingly affordable 5G semiconductors. Realme V3 carries MediaTek's Dimensity 720 chipset, Yicai Global reported.
Realme is a unit of China manufacturer Oppo and was launched in 2018 by Sky Li, a former vice president of Oppo Electronics. The Realme brand slogan is "Dare to Leap."
A company spokesman said despite the virus-hit international smartphone market, Realme remained confident about reaching its sales target of 50 million units this year.
At the 2020 IFA, Europe's biggest technology show that was held last week, Realme outlined its One Europe Strategy wherein it plans to bring its latest products to Europe as soon as possible. The plan includes selling nine models in Europe that were previously marketed in India and China only.
Kuwait OKs China Herbal Medicine For COVID-19 Symptoms
The Kuwait drug regulator has approved the Chinese herbal medicine Lianhua Qingwen to be registered as a drug to treat the symptoms of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome as well as mild and moderate symptoms of COVID-19, according to a statement by its producer Shijiazhuang Yiling Pharmaceutical.
This traditional medicine is made of a formula of herbs including Lonicera japonica, Fructus forsythia and Pogostemon cablin, which are reputed to have antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties.
It has been widely used in China to treat fever, cough, sore muscles, blocked nose and headache. Aside from approving the drug for symptoms of COVID-19, the Kuwait government has authorized it to treat other viral diseases including seasonal influenza, influenza and influenza A virus subtype H1N1, according to the manufacturer's statement.
In August, China's National Health Commission and State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine both recommended the drug in the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 symptoms.
The company reported 2.02 billion yuan ($300 million) in sales of the drug in the first half of the year, accounting for nearly 45 percent of the company's revenue.
While not banned in Canada doctors there have warned against overinflated claims. A Health Canada representative said the agency would stop any false or misleading claims that products can prevent, treat or cure COVID-19. There is no evidence the medicine has any property of the virus itself.
Lianhua Qingwen is reportedly available in Hong Kong and Macau, Brazil, Indonesia, Canada, Romania, Thailand and Singapore.
China Approves First Wholly Foreign-Invested Currency Brokerage
Tokyo-based money brokerage Ueda Yagi Tanshi was approved by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission on Thursday to establish a wholly foreign-invested unit, China Business Network reported.
China is opening up its financial service sector following 11 measures introduced by the Financial Stability and Development Committee to provide "support for the wholly foreign-invested establishment or share acquisition of currency brokerages."
Subsidiary Ueda Yagi Brokerage China will be based in the Tongzhou District, a suburb on Beijing's east side, which analysts said might become a center for international wealth management.
Ueda Yagi Tanshi was established in July 2001 through the merger of Ueda Tanshi, which was founded in 1918, and Yagi Tanshi. It trades in checks, certificates of deposit, commercial papers, government bonds and stocks on the interbank market.
Another Hollywood Of The East?
Changchun, the capital of Jilin Province, is pushing for the city to become a new powerhouse in the filmmaking industry through a project tentatively known as the Changchun International Movie Metropolis.
During the 15th Changchun Film Festival between Sept. 5 and Sept. 10 as many as 107 investment projects spending as much as 148.4 billion yuan ($21.73 billion) were signed as part of the development of the project, Changchun Daily reported.
Changchun International Movie Metropolis will encompass 1,051 square kilometers. It is planned to include a 5G filming area, a commercial complex, residential areas, entertainment parks and hotels. Construction is scheduled to be completed by June 2022.
The Changchun government will offer incentives and subsidies to attract filmmakers - including a maximum of five years of rental subsidy and a maximum of 1 million yuan to productions in the metropolis. It will also provide a convenient visa process for foreign filmmakers and actors.
Dalian Wanda Group is reportedly involved. It funded the Oriental Movie Metropolis in Qingdao which it claimed would become the "Hollywood of the East." It was part of a broader development of a previously undeveloped piece of land 25 kilometers from central Qingdao and partly funded by the sale of residential apartment buildings that would benefit from proximity to the studios.
