Chinese businessman Huang Nubo, who is looking to buy a large tract of land in northeast Iceland, told Danish radio that he was invited to come to Iceland and invest.
Huang Nubo has long had an interest in Iceland, having visited the country on several occasions, and set up an Icelandic-Chinese exchange programme for poets. The inspiration to invest money in Iceland, however, apparently came from within the country.
Eyjan reports that he told Danish he was invited to invest money in Iceland, due to the lagging state of the economy. Who, specifically, invited him is not mentioned, but Nubo has connections with the Social Democratic party, which comprises the larger part of the ruling coalition.
He is good friends with Hjörleifur Sveinbjörnsson, the husband of former Foreign Minister Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir. Huang Nubo and Hjörleifur have apparently been friends for a long time, and it has been reported that during a visit to Iceland last year, Foreign Minister Össur Skarphéðinsson lent him a ministry car for being shown around the country. Former member of parliament Lúðvík Bergvinsson has served in an advisory capacity to Nubo during his negotiations with the government. All of these politicians hail from the Social Democrats.
Nubo is still trying to negotiate a purchase of the land which, as a non-European, he can only be allowed to do with special permission from the government. While many have raised concerns about the environmental impact of the project, Nubo has promised to surrender all water rights in the area, and to fund a full environmental impact assessment.
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