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State Grid acquisition of Eletrobras

State Grid Corp of China is studying whether to acquire electricity distribution subsidiaries that will be sold by Brazil’s state-owned Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA by year’s end, an executive at the Chinese utility said on Wednesday.

State Grid will consider a bid because it is committed to the country in the long term, said Ramon Haddad, vice president of operations for the company in Brazil.

Eletrobras, as the company is known, plans to sell the six money-losing distributors. The decision predates the move by the Brazilian government in August to privatize Eletrobras as a whole.

China continues to expand its investments in Brazil with an emphasis on infrastructure and natural resources projects despite a broader crackdown on irrational outbound investment in sectors such as property and entertainment.

HNA asked to clarify ownership

The Swiss Takeover Board has asked China’s HNA Group to clarify its ownership structure by early next month given apparent changes since its $1.5 billion takeover last year of Swiss aviation services company Gategroup.

The takeover watchdog’s website shows it has asked HNA to clear up by October 3 the apparent discrepancies.

Privately owned HNA, one of China’s most aggressive dealmakers, in July shook up its shareholding structure with a new, charitable foundation, part of its efforts to quash long-standing concerns over its ownership.

In a notification to HNA and Gategroup, the Swiss Takeover Board pointed out that shareholdings listed in HNA’s prospectus for the Gategroup acquisition differed from recent statements by the group’s top leadership.