Investment fund China Minsheng Investment has announced plans to partner with another Chinese company to jointly invest £1 bn (€1.35 bn) in the development of a new commercial district in London.

Investment fund China Minsheng Investment has announced plans to partner with another Chinese company to jointly invest £1 bn (€1.35 bn) in the development of a new commercial district in London.

The private equity firm said it would become the majority investor in the project, which was first unveiled by Chinese developer Advanced Business Park (ABP) in 2013.

Minsheng was set up in August last year by a group of privately owned Chinese companies and is headed by Dong Wenbiao, the former chairman of state-owned Minsheng Bank Corp. The project is the group's largest investment to date and its first venture in Europe.

ABP acquired the Royal Albert Dock in May 2013 in its first foray into the UK market and said it was planning to invest £1 bn (€1.2 bn) to transform London’s Royal Albert Docks into a business hub for Chinese firms. It teamed up with local developer Stanhope for the development, which is expected to involve over 300,000 m2 of work, retail and leisure space, including 230,000 m2 of offices on completion in 2017.

The eastern London district has been touted as potentially London's third financial district, alongside the City and Canary Wharf.

Asian gateway
Under the project, the 14-hectare site situated in the heart of the Royal Docks Enterprise Zone would be transformed into a gateway for Asian and Chinese businesses seeking to establish headquarters in Europe as well as other firms wishing to set up in London. ABP partnered with accountancy firm PwC to create a one-stop services point for Chinese businesses seeking to move to the UK capital.

ABP and Minsheng are not the only Chinese companies to be involved in a massive development project in the UK capital. China’s property and entertainment conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group recently bought residential tower One Nine Elms in London in an off-market deal and said it is planning to develop a 205-metre high tower.

The One Nine Elms mixed-use development will comprise 1 million sq ft of prime residential, office and retail space within two towers of 45 and 60 storeys respectively, connected by a high-level link bridge. On completion in 2017, the value of the Central London development is expected to be over £700 mln.