Czech Television cites a Bloomberg news service report that CEFC China Energy is planning to sell off its global real estate portfolio, worth more than CZK 65bn. The majority of these properties are located in large Chinese cities, along with others in Europe and the United States. However, the buildings it owns in the Czech Republic aren’t expected to be included in the sale. CEFC used its Czech assets, including the Florentinum office building, the Mandarin Oriental Prague hotel, and the former Živnobanka headquarters, as security against a loan last month from J&T Bank. At the time, it claimed the loan was part of a standard refinancing procedure, but reports soon emerged that the company was short on cash and was willing to borrow short-term money on expensive terms. Czech president Miloš Zeman was overtly instrumental in making overtures to the Chinese company, assuring Czechs it would be making enormous investments in the country. Official central bank data, however, indicates that CEFC investments topped out in 2016 at CZK 12.5bn and roughly half that in 2017.
