Island rejected the offer of a Chinese billionaire to buy part of the land

Reykjavík - The Icelandic Ministry of the Interior today rejected a proposal to sell extensive land in the northeastern part of the island to Chinese billionaire Huang Nupo. The Chinese entrepreneur reportedly wanted to build a large recreational project on the land. The rejection is rather surprising, as other Icelandic authorities had supported the sale. This was reported today by news agencies.
    "The request (to purchase the land) from the Chinese corporation Zhongqun owned by Mr. Huang cannot be approved," stated Interior Minister Ögmundur Jónasson according to AFP. "No matter how we look at this, there is no way to comply," he added.
    The refusal is quite surprising, as the Ministry of Economic Affairs supported the sale in its statement from November 10. "There is no reason to believe that Icelandic interests would be threatened by the mentioned foreign investment," the media quoted from the ministry's statement.
    However, the Interior Ministry has a different opinion. "We are talking about the sale of land of such magnitude that if we were to decide to make such an exception from the application of the law, it would be possible as a result to argue that the law is invalid as a whole. Any further requests for similar exceptions would then have to be complied with," emphasized Jónasson. There would allegedly be a precedent leading to the sale of land.
    The decision is final, and Huang Nupo has no option to appeal against it or seek compensation from the Icelandic state.
    Halldór Jóhannsson, who represents Huang in Iceland, expressed "disappointment and astonishment" at the rejection. He pointed out that no law specifies the size of the land that can be sold.
    In August, Huang expressed interest in purchasing 300 square kilometers of land for one billion Icelandic kronor (166 million koruna), which is 0.3 percent of Iceland's territory. On the lands known as Grimsstadir and Fjöllum, he promised to build a tourist complex consisting of a hotel, golf course, and the largest nature reserve in Europe.
    The 55-year-old Huang has previously been in the highest circles of the Chinese government, and Forbes magazine ranked him 129th on this year's list of the richest Chinese. His estimated net worth is 890 million dollars (16.8 billion koruna). However, Huang's communist past has raised suspicions among Icelandic security authorities, suggesting that his intentions might not be driven purely by a love for nature and tourism, as he claims. There is also the possibility that he could secretly assist China in getting closer to the Arctic and its currently explored oil and mineral resources.
    After the collapse of the banks in 2008, the Icelandic government certainly needs money. Many politicians, including Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir, welcomed Huang's investment intention and the job opportunities it would create. However, Icelanders are hesitant to share their natural resources with foreigners and are forming civic associations against the "too cheap" sale of land.