Germany welcomes Chinese investment in finance

China is welcome to invest in German financial firms, Germany’s top market watchdog said after Chinese conglomerate HNA Group raised its stake in Deutsche Bank. An acquisition spree by HNA reflects a broader Chinese push into financial services as Beijing encourages its corporate sector to expand overseas, although such moves have faced increased regulatory scrutiny in the United States and Europe, according to Reuters. “We believe it is fundamentally positive that capital is being invested in German banks. This of course includes foreign capital and of course Chinese capital,” BaFin President Felix Hufeld said on Tuesday. “There is no black list of countries that are not allowed to invest with us,” he added. Last year, BaFin gave a green light to China’s Fosun to take over the small private bank Hauck & Aufhauser. HNA’s investment in Deutsche Bank, which it revealed last week had risen to just below 10%, comes at a time of heightened uncertainty for the bank.