Author Topic: Jack Ma's Latest U.S. Expansion Plan Threatened by Trump Agenda  (Read 11015 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline HAPPY2BME

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5617
  • Reputation: +100/-231
  • For The People And By The People
Chinese billionaire Jack Ma’s latest U.S. expansion plan is facing rising political obstacles.

On Friday, two members of the House of Representatives urged the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. to conduct a "full and thorough" investigation of Ant Financial’s proposed acquisition of MoneyGram International Inc., a money-transfer service.

"The proposal merits careful evaluation as it would provide Chinese access to the U.S. financial infrastructure, a move that would pose significant national security risks if completed," Congressman Kevin Yoder and Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson wrote in a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

MoneyGram shares fell 0.50 percent to $16.81 at the close in New York. They have more than doubled in the past year.

Euronet CEO Michael Brown wrote to Mnuchin this week arguing Ant’s offer raises national security concerns because money transmitters collect confidential data on users which the government requires them to retain for several years. Money transmitters also get confidential requests from the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network about transactions that may be connected to terrorism or money laundering.

Yoder and Johnson reiterated those concerns in their letter on Friday, pointing out that Ant Financial is partly owned by Chinese state institutions. This could give a foreign government access to critical infrastructure and could be used for "intelligence purposes, location tracking, and identifying vulnerabilities for coercion," they said.


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-31/ma-s-moneygram-deal-threatened-as-lawmakers-cite-china-concerns

Offline HAPPY2BME

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5617
  • Reputation: +100/-231
  • For The People And By The People
Re: Jack Ma's Latest U.S. Expansion Plan Threatened by Trump Agenda
« Reply #1 on: April 01, 2017, 08:20:31 AM »
Reality check: Chinese visitors spend more than any other country in U.S.

By Curtis Stone (People's Daily Online)    14:08, April 01, 2017

China is one of the fastest-growing inbound travel markets to the U.S. In 2015, 2.6 million Chinese travelers visited the U.S., accounting for 7 percent of overseas arrivals. This number continues to grow; and in 2021, the country is projected to be number one in terms of overseas travelers to the U.S., with 5.7 million Chinese visitors.

Travelers from China spend more than any other country. In fact, Chinese visitors and students put billions back into the pockets of Americans, each and every year. The economic impact of millions of Chinese visitors to the U.S. is substantial, and is a testament to the fruits of the China-U.S. relationship. Spending by Chinese visitors and students, including money spent on U.S. airlines, reached $30 billion in 2015; and the average spending by Chinese visitors was about $7,200, according to the trade association’s data.