Iceland rejects chinese billion-kroner land grab

Iceland has rejected a Chinese billionaire’s bid to purchase 120 square miles of land for an environmental tourism project – equivalent to 0.3% of the country’s landmass – because it could not bear to part with such a vast amount of space.

The country’s interior ministry said in a statement: "The ministry believes that it's not possible to look past how much land the company wanted to purchase.”

"There is no precedent for land on this scale being sold to foreigners."

The potential buyer, Huang Nubo, had tabled an offer reported to be worth 1 billion Icelandic kronur ($8.8 million) for the land. Huang had said that he will invest 20 billion Icelandic krona as part of a plan to link up the Vatnajokull and and Jokulsargljufur national parks, as a new offering for his company's environmental tourism arm, as reported in OPP.

Source: OPP.org.uk